| The Pittsburgh I-Net |
| Opportunities | |
| Experiences | |
| Lessons | |
| Robert D. Carlitz | |
| Information Renaissance | |
| Pittsburgh, PA | |
| April 6, 2001 | |
| Opportunities |
| Rebuild of cable system | ||
| Fiber/coax hybrid | ||
| Possibility of laying extra fiber | ||
| Shared infrastructure | ||
| City | ||
| Schools | ||
| Libraries | ||
| Community groups | ||
| Themes |
| Value of dark fiber | |
| Common needs of diverse groups | |
| Economies of scale for aggregated services and support | |
| Political complexity of building meaningful collaborations |
| Structures |
| CityÕs negotiating team | ||
| External consultants | ||
| Schools | ||
| Libraries | ||
| I-Net Working Group | ||
| Information Renaissance | ||
| 80 community service organizations | ||
| Responses |
| Rejection by AT&T of dark fiber I-Net | |
| Preference for managed services | |
| Acquiescence of city to this position | |
| Evolution of parallel negotiations |
| Fragmented I-Nets |
| City I-Net | |
| School I-Net | |
| Library I-Net | |
| Community I-Net | |
| Statement of Principles between AT&T and the I-Net Working Group |
| Implementation Today |
| Cable system Ñ partially built | |
| City I-Net - partially built | |
| School I-Net Ñ partially built | |
| Library I-Net Ñ partially built | |
| Community I-Net Ñ not yet built | |
| Alternative mechanisms for connectivity Ñ many possibilities |
| Alternatives |
| Smart Buildings | ||
| common backbone/shared Internet access | ||
| shared user support | ||
| Point to point wireless links | ||
| rapid deployment/low recurring costs | ||
| Excess capacity of school I-Net | ||
| Public waves via DWDM | ||
| Practical Lessons |
| Aggregation lowers costs | |
| New technologies enable service to new audiences | |
| Anchor tenants can make a network affordable | |
| Flexibility and creativity can exploit new technologies for public benefit |
| Philosophical Lessons |
| The Digital Divide reflects a division between rich and poor | |
| The local regulatory process needs mechanisms that encourage the deployment of new technologies adequate to support sustainable community services |