Image
Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
software defined networks
Content tagged with "software defined networks"
Register for this Webinar: Building Broadband Better with Community Empowerment Networks
The Michigan State University-based Comprehensive Economic Recovery Initiative's (CERI) Building Broadband Better project is hosting a webinar this Thursday, August 26th, at 12pm ET.
The undertaking, which works towards connectivity solutions in support of "identifying and prioritizing unserved and underserved areas; funding, designing, building and operating networks to serve these areas and; ensuring that network access is affordable and that the devices and skills needed to benefit from that access are accessible to all" works with "partners throughout and beyond the state to help develop and implement strategies that move Michigan closer to the goal of providing universal access to pandemic- and future-ready 21st Century Communications Infrastructure, and the benefits it can support."
The webinar will provide a project update in the context of the anticipated federal funding for initiatives all over the country, and include experts who will speak to the advantages of separating the infrastructure and service delivery layer on broadband networks. From the registration page:
This webinar will examine a promising approach to Building Broadband Better: Community Empowerment Networks that utilize Automated Open Access (AOA) technology. As you will learn, these networks provide unique benefits, including reduced cost of operation; increased competition and innovation among ISPs; lower prices, increased choice, security and ease of use for customers and; an open platform for innovation and value creation by community service providers (CSPs), including organizations operating in the healthcare, education, public safety, government, public utility and nonprofit sectors.
Bruce Patterson (who recently joined EntryPoint Networks as Solution Services Director after 15 years as the city of Ammon's Technology Director), Jeff Christensen (President), and Mitch Shapiro will be the featured speakers.
Register for the webinar here.
Open Access Networks - Episode 4 of Connect This!
On Episode 4 of Connect This! Christopher is joined by Jeff Christensen (President, EntryPoint Networks), Dane Jasper (CEO and Co-Founder, Sonic), and Travis Carter (CEO, US Internet) to talk about open access models, and the challenges and opportunities they present. During the discussion they discuss barriers to entry, differentiation, dark fiber, and why we don't see more cities pursuing projects like this. They also have a little fun sharing what they think the FCC has gotten right and wrong over the last 4 years, and what Comcast's recent announcement about bandwidth caps will mean for users and competing Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Mentioned during the episode was Chris' conversation with NetEquity Networks' Isfandiyar Shaheen and Althea Networks' Deborah Simpier about innovating financing models for expanding fiber networks.
Subscribe to the show using this feed.
Read the transcript for this episode.
Is Open Access the Future? - Community Broadband Bits Podcast Episode 424
For communities looking to improve Internet access for their citizens but that might be wary of becoming full-fledged Internet Service Providers (ISPs) themselves, open access networks offer a practical model for the future. Like roads, open access networks serve as publicly owned byways that telecommunications providers can then lease bandwidth on and offer a wide array of information services. They ensure competition, provide local control of underlying infrastructure, and lead to economic growth.
This week on the podcast Christopher speaks with Jeff Christensen, President of EntryPoint Networks, a consulting and software company working with communities around the country (including Ammon, Idaho) on open access networks. Jeff shares with Christopher what’s been happening recently, including some of the software upgrades EntryPoint has developed over the last year and the impact they’ll have both for administrators and users moving forward.
Christopher and Jeff then dig into the future of state telecommunications policy, and the vision that communities need to have to confront the realities of existing cable and telecom monopolies around the country. They talk about the potential of government policies that promote competition rather than restrain it, and the possibilities for network innovation if we were to reframe how we think about Internet access in terms of having separate infrastructure and service components. Finally, they spend some time discussing practical steps communities can take, including defining the problem and then making low-interest loans to build open access fiber networks in their regions.
If you’re interested in learning more about open access networks, we break down basic models, concepts, and advantages. Or, listen to Jeff’s TedX talks, The Internet Disruption Every City Needs and Modern Networks, Innovation, and Cities or read his recent Medium post, "We Need Our Internet Access Networks to Be Something They Are Not."
This show is 41 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed.
Transcript below.
We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.
Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.
Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.
Ammon Continues to Expand Open Access Network, Super-Affordable Rates Attract Attention
Ammon, Idaho’s open access software defined network has earned accolades from industry experts and been hailed as a model approach for other communities. It has been praised for serving the community, providing reliability, and offering affordable options. Amid news of expansion, the positive effects of competition via the publicly owned network have recently flashed across news and social media. People who don’t live in the Idaho city are shocked to learn how affordable high-quality Internet access can be.
Growing a Good Thing
In March, City of Ammon Fiber Optics began to deploy in the city’s Bridgewater neighborhood, where they expected to connect around 300 of the potential 500 subscriber households with this particular expansion. Three more neighborhoods are lined up for expansion this summer and into the fall.
The city provides several options for residents in Ammon, including the Local Improvement District (LID) approach, to finance expansions of the infrastructure. Their method allows the community to continue to build the network without borrowing or bonding. Community members within the boundaries of the project area can sign up at the beginning of the process to pay for connecting over a 20-year period. If they decide to pass initially and connect later, they must pay the connection fee out of pocket. In 2018, the city of Ammon developed this explainer video:
If people want to pay the full connection fee all at once, they have the option to do so, but many people choose to pay through the LID. Connecting to the networks usually costs between $3,000 - $3,500. Groups of neighbors come together to create the LIDs because deploying in an area where there are multiple homes interested in connecting to the network is less expensive than a single home connection. The more property owners who opt in to connect to City of Ammon Fiber Optics, the lower the cost is to every one who wants to connect.
Keeping it Clear
Taking Control Through Software Defined Networks - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 338
Many of us are accustomed to Internet access from companies that own the infrastructure, offer only a few options, and are one of a small number of providers. For the most part, we've learned to accept that model, but will it ever change? This week’s guest, President of EntryPoint Networks Jeff Christensen, explains why that model is broken and how we can fix it through software defined networks (SDNs). We can turn that model around to put control in the hands of users.
EntryPoint works primarily with municipalities to develop open access networks that separate infrastructure from services. As you’ll hear from Jeff, this approach takes the open nature of the Internet even further to encourage innovation, competition, access to goods, services, information, and ideas. EntryPoint’s approach turns the traditional closed system most American’s are used to on its head.
Jeff explains how the growing use of the cloud and changes in other technology have brought us to the moment when we can change how we interact with the Internet. Moving forward, users rather than ISPs, will drive technology innovations. Christopher and Jeff discuss how cloud edge computing will drive that shift, how SDNs enable innovation, and how municipalities fill a role they are already familiar with as keepers of infrastructure. They also get into some of the considerations to keep in mind if a community is looking at SDN technology.
Ammon, Idaho, has already adopted a dynamic open access approach with a SDN; Jeff and Christopher discuss the way the community has blazed a trail for other municipalities and the benefits it is bringing. They talk about Ammon’s innovative financial approach, Local Improvement Districts (LIDs), and the way it has allowed the community to move forward with their cutting-edge approach.
For more, check out the EntryPoint intro video, Jeff’s TED Talks below, and peruse information at the EntryPoint website.
Modern Networks, Innovation, and Cities - TEDxRiverton, March 2018
The Internet Disruption Every City Needs - TedxSaltLakeCity, October 2017
This show is 37 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed.
Transcript below.
We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.
Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.
Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.
Image credit geralt via pixabay.
Ammon Fiber Optics Declared Consumer Product of the Year in Idaho
Idaho Innovation Awards recently recognized industry leader Ammon Fiber Optics as the state’s Consumer Product of the Year. The publicly owned open access fiber network beat out companies that make expandable shoes for kids and solar power generators to win the award.
This year’s Idaho Innovation Awards event was organized by law firm Stoel Rives in cooperation with the Idaho Technology Council and Trailhead. According to the event website, it “recognizes innovations, innovative professionals and companies throughout the state” that contribute to Idaho’s economy. The other finalists for the prize were Expandals from GroFive and Kodiak from Inergy.
Belle of the Broadband Ball
Ammon, Idaho, is no stranger to accolades. In 2016, the city’s fiber network received the Community Broadband Project of the Year award from the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). Many others, including a former FCC Chairman, have applauded Ammon’s innovative open access model and funding approach.
Couldn't Make It To Ammon? Event Videos Now Available
You may not have been able to get to Ammon, Idaho, to attend the official lighting ceremony of the community’s open access fiber network. Perhaps you weren’t able to watch the stream to the event either; life is demanding and sometimes we just can’t fit everything into our day. But you can still watch the event at your own pace because we’ve broken down the presentations and panels for you.
Deb Socia (NCC) & Jeff Christensen (EntryPoint) Introduce Ammon Mayor Dana Kirkham :
Mayor Dana Kirkham :
State Senator Brent Hill :
Keynote: How Does the City of Tomorrow Get ‘Smart’?
Glenn Ricart, Founder and CEO, US Ignite :
Panel - How do we make ‘smart cities’ a reality?
- Glenn Ricart, Founder and CEO, US Ignite
- Shawn Irvine, Economic Development Director, Independence, Oregon
- Aarushi Sarbhai, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Utah
- Jeff Peterson, CTO, EntryPoint Networks
- Moderated by Deb Socia, Executive Director, Next Century Cities
Bobbi-Jo Meuleman, Chief Operations Officer, Idaho Department of Commerce :
Policy Discussion: Does government have a role to play?
Christopher Mitchell, Director, Community Broadband Networks :
Ammon Report: "Enabling Competition and Innovation on a City Fiber Network"
Image
As Ammon, Idaho, celebrated the official launch of its publicly owned open access network on October 5th, 2017, the folks from Harvard University’s Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH), shared Ammon’s story in their new report. Enabling Competition and Innovation on a City Fiber Network, by Paddy Leerssen and David Talbot provides the details of the community’s pioneering network that uses technology to increase competition for the benefit of citizens.
The report explains Ammon’s “Network Virtualization” strategy and how they accomplish it with software-defined networking (SDN) and networking function virtualization (NFV). The results reduce costs and allow users to take advantage of more specialized services, including allowing them to easily switch between Internet service providers. The environment encourages ISPs to take extra steps to please their subscribers.
Leerssen and Talbot also take the time to explain the network’s evolution from classic I-Net to groundbreaking Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH). Information in the report includes detail about pricing, and how the city determines the cost for connectivity to property owners. Readers can also learn about the ways users are taking virtualization to the next level by creating their own private networks.
Readers can learn how the Ammon Model has changed prior conceptions of municipal networks because the community needed and wanted a new approach. While Idaho is not one of the states where legal barriers discourage municipal Internet networks, the authors address how some state laws have effectively crippled local attempts to improve connectivity.
Key Findings from the report:
Ammon’s network initially served government and business users. Construction of a residential network—paid for by a property assessment equal to $17 monthly for 20 years—began in September of 2016. As of August 2017 it had 145 residential customers, with more than 270 homes expected to be connected by November 2017 in the first connected neighborhood.
Can't Be There? Livestream of Ammon Launch Oct. 5th
If you can’t make it to Ammon to attend the launch of the city’s ground breaking open access fiber network, you can still enjoy the festivities. The event will be livestreamed starting at 10:30 eastern at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmATax9osBK4K2ZUiAtjXmQ/live
Ammon’s Mayor Deb Kirkham, State Senator Brent Hill, and even former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, in a video address, will share thoughts about the city’s pioneering infrastructure and what it means for this Idaho city of about 14,000 people. Christopher is in Ammon to celebrate with the community and speak on the significance of this local project.
If you need to brush up on Ammon’s software defined network (SDN) and the ways it has already improved life in the community, read our coverage before the event on October 5th. You can also take a few minutes to listen to episodes 259, episode 207, episode 173, and episode 86 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast to listen to conversations that describe the evolution of Ammon’s network.
Lastly, check out our video about the network and hear from the people in Ammon who are early adopters:
Fiber Launch Event In Ammon Oct. 5th
The City of Ammon, Idaho, in partnership with Next Century Cities will host an event titled “The Launch of the Ammon Fiber Utility” to bring together representatives from Ammon and the region, policy and broadband experts, and key stakeholders to show off Ammon’s open access fiber network.
The City’s open access fiber network, named 2016 Community Broadband Project of the Year by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA), is delivering gigabit connectivity to a community of 14,500 people.
The Launch of the Ammon Fiber Utility
The event will offer attendees the opportunity to hear more about the Ammon Model, learn how a conservative, rural town secured a high take rate, its software defined networking technologies (SDN), as well as a tour of its cutting edge facilities.
The full day event will take place Thursday, October 5, 2017, at the Ammon Operations Center and will include presenters from local government, nonprofit, and the private sector. In addition to Christopher, you can expect to see:
- Glenn Ricart, Founder and CTO of US Ignite (Keynote)
- Dana Kirkham, Mayor of Ammon
- Bruce Patterson, Ammon CTO
- Tom Wheeler, former FCC Chairman (video address)
- Michael Curri, Founder and President, Strategic Network Group, Inc
- Shawn Irvine, Economic Development Director, City of Independence, Oregon
- Deb Socia, Executive Director, Next Century Cities
A Learning Experience
If you attend the conference, the morning program will start with keynote speakers and a series of panels:
Smart Cities Panel; researchers, developers, legal and policy experts will discuss current and future challenges.
Policy Discussion with Christopher Mitchell; on the role of government to solve the broadband challenges faced by communities utilizing historical experience inform future policy.