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Thought I should pass this along

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 11:34:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Dillon <>
To: 
Cc: , 
Subject: Better keep on top of these wireless developments!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 12:37:07 -0400
From: Gordon Cook <>
To: Multiple recipients of list <>
Subject: Dave Hughes report on just completed spread spectrum wireless

>Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 09:34:46 -0600 (MDT)
>From: Dave Hughes <>
>To: Gordon Cook <>
>Subject: Will you post?
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>
>Will you post this to the compriv and telecom reg sites?
>
>Dave Hughes
>
>
>	Well, the NSF-GWU sponsored Emerging Wireless Conference is over.
>Two intense days - nearly 50 speakers and panelists wrestling with
>wireless, satellite technologies, public policies, and distance
learning
>with them. It is the first such conference that brought satellite
gurus
>together with the advanced non-commercial-service wireless experts
and
>those together with FCC, NTIA, and White House staffers.
>
>	Somewhat to my suprise, there was unanimous agreement by those
>attendees who stuck it to the end, to do it again next year.
>
>	While not particularly intended the most eye-opening sessions were
>either about (1) little known but spectacular applications of
wireless to
>the most difficult regions of America (2) equally little known
>technological developments and analysis that challenges the
>telephone-company assumptions upon which all public policy is
based and
>(3) the almost Alice in Wonderland atmosphere that was created when
>FCC and NTIA panelists mixed with practioners of the 'emerging
wireless'
>arts.
>
>	Many attendees became so frustrated with the nearly irrelevant -
>to the real telecommunications world they live in - presentations and
>answers to questions by FCC and NTIA staffers - at the end they
seriously
>suggested we drop all Federal agency persons from a future
conference.
>(not knowing that it is the policies of these agencies, or the
catch-22
>laws, that is the greatest obstacle to the flowering of these new and
>incredibly cost effect technologies. And that one purpose of the
>conference was to educate the working staffs of those agencies.)
>
>	One classic exchange came when, after three staffers from the FCC
>and the School Libraries Corporation (SLC) had made their
presentation on
>how the Universal Service Fund worked, and what was eligible and
what was
>not, and Mike Willett, one of the most sought-after integrators and
>installers of wireless networks for schools described the project
he is
>working on right now. The State of Colorado had only $2 million to
>allocate to link up 70 schools in the south-east farm country
corner of
>Colorado, including reliable voice telephone service in tiny towns
who
>don't have it now to decent speed connections to the Internet. The
>consortium of towns and school districts first get bids from
telephone
>companies to do the job. Then they brought in Mike, who bid the
entire
>project, using modern microwave systems, and no-licence wireless, and
>associated mux and other terminating equipment, as a private,
regional
>telephone and data network. He showed he could do it for the $2
million
>available, with minimum data service of T-1 speed to all schools,
with NO
>recurring monthly costs, except incidental maintainance.  On the
other
>hand the telephone companies said they could *not* reach all the
schools,
>but could build to most of them, and a backbone.  Which would cost
>$500,000 a MONTH.
>
>But this was the catch-22. The Universal Service Fund - designed and
>intended by Congress to connect up ALL US public schools and
libraries by
>subsidies with the principles of (a) universality (2) technology
neutral
>and (c) competitive - CANNOT be applied for by the schools to help
pay for
>advanced and total solution, but WOULD pay for the incredibly costly
>partial telco 'solution' - which, however, would have to be
applied for
>every single year. Risking the eventual cut off of the USF program.
>
>The FCC staffers simply had no answers to that spectacular, real
world of
>school connectivity riddle. Nor could they even answer the
question as to
>whether the PROBLEM was inside the FCC's interpretation of the
law, or the
>law itself!
>
>As they did not (they were gone by this time) for an incredible
story at
>lunch brought 5,700 miles by Red Boucher, ex-lt. governor of
Alaska who
>owns Alaska Wireless and has been, for years, trying to help
connect up,
>the schools, local government, one-person health clinics,
businesses the
>325 remote severe-weather native villages (with like 100-500
populations)
>to the rest of the world. With reliable voice and data services. (in
>places like Tooksook Bay where the most progressive
telecommunicator pays
>over $7,200 a year for a dial-up AOL connection WHEN he can get
dial tone
>from the shitty satellite delivered telephone company (who is
OPPOSING the
>use of a $700,000 TIAP grant for extending data services to the
schools of
>the 40 villages in one region - on the ground that the laws and
FCC rules
>make it illegal to offer competing services with Federal funds
(not USF
>funds) at lower costs where there is 'already' service!
>
>While Red's power point luncheon speaker presentation was later, the
>wireless divisions staffers from NTIA were still on the panel,
when Red
>summarized THAT catch-22 in an audience microphone question for
them, for
>which they had NO answer, and could only 'invite' him to come into
>Commerce and talk to them. Which he will do, enroute, however to
Senator's
>Stevens (R-AK) offices to ask his close friend Ted to intervene in
>the bull**** that, while proclaiming Administration support and
programs
>to connect up all schools, libraries and health services, in fact
are not
>only irrelevant (USF) or obstructionist (TIIAP by Telcos)
>
>Red showed the incredible deployment under winter conditions using
>commercial no-licence wireless devices hooked to a $3,000 a month
>satellite service, to bring to pop 80 Tooksook Bay, 56kbps Internet
>service to PCs in the school buildings, the health clinic, the
community
>building AND, in a region where the weather gets so severe, that
>the students and teachers cannot go to 'school' but must study from
>home for days on end when the wind chill is -75 and a 'light snow'
>covers the only automobile in village - to three homes of teachers,
>administrators, and students. At 2 mbps locally, with 100% reliablity
>through last winter. NONE of which is eligible for USF funding, there
>or in any of the other 324 like villages, for which a technical,
>economic, solution is at hand. For villages on subsistance economy
>with equivalent of 5-7,000 dollars a year total incomes.
>
>Then after pretty senior FCC official made the keynote address in
which,
>knowing he was addressing those who advocate, manufacture, install
and use
>no-licence advanced wireless systems stressed the PROBLEM of
no-licence of
>the 'tragedy of the commons' (the theory that when too many radios
>operate in the same shared spectrum space, they all degrade to
>uselessness), young Tim Shepard made a brilliant presentation from
his MIT
>Doctoral thesis on 'dense spread spectrum networks' (after that same
>senior official who had stressed the 'limitations' of radio was
gone, of
>course) backed up by advanced mathmatical analyses how BILLIONS of
radios
>can co-exist in the same electromagnetic space in a city, for
example,
>exchange hundreds of megabits per second without a problem - totally
>wiping out the assumptions upon which the 'tragedy of the commons'
>inspired FCC spectrum policies are based.
>
> Fortunately a not-quite-as senior FCC person was there, who, when
invited
>was only a technologist in the Policy branch, but is now going to
replace
>the head of the FCC' (OET)  - office of engineering. Who could
understand
>the math, and the contention I have long held since reading Tim's
>doctorate that, if the radio manufacturing FCC policies are made
right
>there IS NO 'tragedy of the commons' problem remaining. For the
latest
>computer chip technology can support the typs of networks Tim
describes.
>(of course Tim, like George Gilder, and while David Eisenberg -
who made
>his equally brilliant presentation at lunch of the 'Rise of the
the Stupid
>Networks' which wipes out the technological assumptions upon which
the
>telephone company empires are build - was there in the audience) says
>'Drop all Regulations and let the technologist build the now-possible
>radios!' He even demonstration that America could have 'free'
telephone
>voice service everywhere! Just the cost of the radios. Fat chance.
The
>obsolete telephone companies want to hold on to their threatend
empires,
>and will pour billions into preventing Tim Shepard's radios from ever
>being made legal, even though 'only' the 270 million American
consumers
>and the radio manufacturing industry would benefit.
>
>And he was followed by another incredible presentaion by Shigeaky
Hakasui,
>of Harmonix corporation, who showed the theory and performance of
>new wireless devices that operate in the millimeter range where only
>molecules of Oxygen 'interfere' at OC-3 or 155Megabits a second!,
which
>costs MILLIONS to get from phone companies, wired! Very short range
>but capable of being daisy chained in downtown areas. He showed
>deployment in Tokyo in driving rainstorms (that harm laser light
>networks, the only competitors). And the radio is the size of a
>book! He had to, In Tokyo, show down the throughput, because the
>end customers computers could not keep up with the OC-3 rate data
>flow! While sitting in the audience was Eric Lee, CEO of Solectek,
>whose latest spread spectrum radio you can buy right now for $9,000
>does 'only' 11mbps (above office LAN speed), for 25 miles!
>
>Then, though there were other great presentations, clashes, and
>revelations, the high point for many was the Tour de Force
presntation of
>the 7th graders in tiny Lewistown, Montana who, while being seen
by the
>audience in the auditorium at George Washington University in DC,
and the
>senior Senator from Montana Max Baucus in the audience via satellite
>television, fetched, wirelessly from Big Spring Creek in Montana
>scientific data readings of the water quality coming into their
classroom
>computers operated by the students, which then appeared
immediately via
>the Internet on the big screen in DC - or any of the other 100
million web
>users round the world.
>
>Which reading taken during class yesterday for the demonstration
of the
>potential of Field Science by Wireless is still on the Lewistown
>web site, and you can fetch it too.
>
>Go to www.lewistown.net, the select 'Trailhead Project' and then on
>the right column, 'Crick Data' and you will get the sensor readings
>last taken (later they will set up automatic every hour readings)
>whereever you are in the world.
>
>All this was video taped by the telvision studios of GWU, and I
have the
>tapes which unedited, are classic already. For after the Senator who
>smoozed with the students after the incredible demonstration (at
>ridiculously low cost - the TV satellite real time for the
conference cost
>us $6,000, while the 'field science by wireless' demo, which 100
million
>people can get, cost about $.50 of connect costs.), then the
audience got
>into serious discussion with the 30+ 7th graders in Steve Paulson's
>classroom over the environmental meaning of the raw data just
fetched -
>which they (the kids)  *really* understood. And held their own with
>question from National Science Foundation staffers. Next step?
Submergible
>tiny video camera in Big Spring Creek where the 'flow rate' you
will see
>(too fast after the stream was diverted) which can look the trout
right in
>the eye and see if they are in distress), fetching the data
wirelessly
>even when the temperature in Mid Montana is 40 below and 3 feet of
snow
>covers the stream and its ice.
>
>(I'll help them do that after I help a 'bat scientist' in Colorado
count,
>at night, in cave openings high in the Sangre de Cristo mountain
range,
>the number of bats flying out in a swarm, to see the effects of
Fish and
>Wildlife tyring to put grids on the cave opening, to keep people out.
>All wirelessly connected of course.)
>
>Well, a lot of important things were cussed and discussed, seen and
>sampled, right under the nose of the high mucky mucks of
Washington DC,
>and the national media types - who prefer to cover the latest
change of
>lipstick of Monica Lewinsky (we did have some key reporters there
but of
>course those who will report on pies in Bill Gates face just are too
>preoccupied to cover things that will determine our communications
future
>in SPITE of government).
>
>So 100% of every word spoken in the 20 session hours of the 2
days, was
>taped, and will be converted by Dragon Speaking Naturally software
into
>ASCII text, all of which will be, when done, put on our
>wireless.oldcolo.com and the emerging wireless web site at GWU.
>
>And Greg Jones, President of TAPR, has offered to convert the tapes
>also to realaudio and post them.
>
>So while you will never sample the intense, important-matters face
to face
>meetings that went on for a few hundred people on May 4th and 5th in
>Washington, you will be able to read or hear everything they said, or
>applauded. (well, almost everything. For many of those from
'government'
>want to review what they said and have the privelege of editing it
before
>the whole world reads it)
>
>Dave Hughes
>
>
>P.S. this is just my first-impressions report about the
conference, before
>I fly back to Colorado, where the future is in progress.
>
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     Earl

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