Taking Aim at the US Broadband Deficit

October 17, 2011 Leave a Comment

During his October 6th speech on Universal Service Fund (USF) and InterCarrier Compensation (ICC) reform, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski admitted the United States has not adequately fulfilled our obligation to deliver broadband Internet and communications services to all areas of the country.   Genachowski noted “harm from not having (access to) broadband – the costs of digital exclusion – already high, are growing every day.” He continued “The broadband divide means economic opportunities denied for ordinary consumers who lack broadband access; educational opportunities diminished; health care access reduced; and public safety
compromised.”

The deficiencies in broadband deployment within the United States are well known, and widely discussed on media and blogs.  The Organization of Economic  Co-operation and Development (OECD) dropped the US to 14th place on the global broadband penetration list, with Western European countries and South Korea leading the world in delivering high speed Internet and broadband services to their citizens.

In a global economy moving ahead at Internet speed, can the United States afford to allow ourselves to continue sliding our ability to deliver the basic tool of communications, this “Fourth Utility” of broadband communications to our citizens?  our young people and students?  our businesses and entrepreneurs?

The FCC of course publically claims they have “harnessing the power of broadband Internet to benefit every American” at the core of their mission, however Genachowski also admits there are cities, with the example of Liberty, Nebraska, as examples of small towns which as of summer 2011 still had no access to broadband internet services.

Let’s consider a model that bypasses the political hype of projects such as the FCC’s Connect America Fund, and turn the responsibility back to private companies, entrepreneurs, and other Americans who given the opportunity may be able to use creativity, energy, and a desire to bring the US back in front of the world’s broadband penetration ratings.

Its All About Fiber and Wireless

In a 2010 article on wireless Internet access in Moldova, Pacific-Tier Communications wrote an article describing wireless access in Chisinau.  In that article we reported wireless internet access in Moldova, up to 50Mbps, was available for about $45 USD.  Testing between Chisinau and Burbank (CA) indicated throughput of more than 10Mbps.

Subject: End of the world/Fin del Mundo – Telefonica performs excellently!

Hi guys,

I’m in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. On vacation – not work. Except … I had to work for an hour, or at least have a Skype video call from my iPad yesterday. I was at a hotel with Telefonica Argentina xDSL.

It worked perfectly into northern Europe. No problems! Now the point is not the wonders of Skype; but the quality of the network down here at “Fin del Mundo”. Quite excellent! (Email from Martin Levy, Hurricane Electric)

Subsequent testing from hotels and hotspots within the United States showed a fraction of that performance, putting the US in a category somewhat less than Moldova.  The problem in many cases is the local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) simply cannot provide, or afford the broadband “bandwidth” needed to connect users to other locations throughout the global Internet-connected community, resulting in restricted services for many local users – even in large cities such as Los Angeles.

“Just as there is a need for new roads, sewers and power infrastructure, there is a need for new communications infrastructure” explains Hunter Newby, CEO of Allied Fiber.  “Can anyone imagine driving a 10 year old car, or using a 10 year old cell phone with no ability to upgrade. This is the sad state of our National fiber infrastructure. New investment is critically necessary in order for the USA to be competitive.”

It is, all about, fiber.  While smaller countries like Moldova or South Korea may find construction and delivery of fiber optic and wireless infrastructure manageable, North America is a huge land mass, and interconnecting major population areas requires hundreds, if not thousands of miles of infrastructure to deliver broadband communications services to each population center and rural area.

While wireless technologies such as 4G, LTE, and WiMAX are becoming very effective at delivering broadband to mobile users and even local loops (end users and consumers), the issue is more how to get content and real-time communications interconnecting the wireless towers and local loops located throughout the 50 states.  A tremendous amount of capital is required to “sew” all the end distribution points together, and that thread is fiber.

While Allied Fiber is focusing on building new infrastructure on the long distance routes, other independent and neutral fiber optic infrastructure companies are now scrambling to build “metro” fiber infrastructure needed to deliver high capacity infrastructure to distribution points closer to end users.

“The independents (fiber carriers) are the only way our country will remain competitive, innovative, and offer value” advises Glenn Russo, President of Zayo Networks, an independent provider of fiber optic network services.  “The incumbent ILECs and CLECs cannot offer the agility and innovation required to move ahead.”

Speaking of Zayo’s contribution to the US market, Russo continues “our infrastructure helps promote innovation within a variety of industries and enterprises.   We (Americans) are impatient, we hear of things technologically possible, of things being done in other countries, and we want it (those services) delivered now.  The other companies (ILECs and CLECs) cannot respond to a rapidly developing and changing market.”

John Schmitt, VP of Business development at Fiberlight would agree.  “That’s when the business gets enjoyable, when you are forging ahead and opening new territories” says Schmitt.  “Fiberlight is completely neutral in delivering a high capacity product to (telecom) carriers, networks, and even private enterprise. “

Fiberlight, a metro fiber optic infrastructure provider,  is committed to delivering “super high fiber counts” within their metro networks, providing high capacity fiber to buildings, towers, and carriers.  That infrastructure can serve not only any building within their own metro infrastructure, but also “building up to interconnection points, carrier hotels, data centers, as well as serving the needs of private networks within the metro” informs Schmitt.

“While we are in the metro space, and can deliver to end points within the metro not possible for long distance and backbone companies, we are a good match for companies like Allied Fiber who need to provide their customers access to the local loop, as well as allowing our customers access other markets throughout the US with other metro providers connected to the long haul guys.”

What is Means to Americans and Global Competitiveness

The World Bank has published reports that indicate “Broadband networks can support long-term innovation-led economic growth. Recent research by the World Bank finds that for every 10 percentage-point increase in the penetration of broadband services, developing countries can see an increase in economic growth of 1.3 percentage points.”

There is a clear correlation between giving citizens access to broadband communications and Internet access with economic growth.  The United States, falling further behind the world each year in broadband penetration and access, is not providing sufficient resources to Americans to allow the country to remain competitive in an aggressive global Internet-enabled market.

Russo is optimistic.  “We need to keep a sharp eye on the stimulus networks.  Many of the new networks are middle mile (connecting metro areas), and offer many synergies to our (Zayo’s) business model.  If all the networks proposed are actually built, I have to believe we will catch up to the rest of the world pretty fast.”

And while the Broadband.Gov website (FCC’s official website) has not been updated much in the past year, aside from a few blog entries and event videos, the materials published outlining the US Government’s broadband vision and plan are sound.

A Call to Broadband Action

For Americans the main task is to ensure broadband infrastructure is built.  No more excuses from ILEC/CLECs finding excuses to throttle down broadband, rather than enable hyper-growth of broadband.  No more franchises given to telecom providers who lacking competition have little or no incentive to rapidly expand broadband access throughout the country.

High capacity fiber backbones and metro networks, high capacity tower and wireless infrastructure, regulation to support construction, rather than over regulate or establish restrictive licensing requirements.

It does not make any difference if the network will deliver social media, movies, voice, video, support for enterprise information and communications technology, education, intelligent grids, research, or processing “Seti at Home” processing packets.  The fourth utility is essential to our economic survival and national security.

Companies such as Allied Fiber, Zayo, Fiberlight, and dozens of other startup and independent telecom providers must be given our support as a nation and government to build and deliver the tools needed for current and future generations of Americans to retain and extend our leadership in the global network-connected community.

Filed under Burbank, Government Regulatory, International ICT, Internet and Telecom, Open Topics, Social Networking Tagged with , , , , ,

An Escape into Burbank’s Urban Wilderness

June 6, 2011 1 Comment

Sunset from Burbank CaliforniaAnother day of failed electrical equipment, diesel generators not starting, overheating in data centers, and water leaks.  All problems overcome, now it is time to take a break and recharge your mind for the challenges queuing up for tomorrow.

A drive down the ‘5 from Los Angeles, and 20 minutes later back in Burbank.  Burbank, home of half the world’s entertainment community, a regional airport, several major highways, and of course the Verdugu Mountains.

Of Course the Verdugu Mountains?

Los Angeles is unique.  Not a single city, but a hundred cities all clustered together in a social eco-system that provides cultural diversity unlike any other area in the world.  Each city has a different personality, each city has features making it attractive to whatever ethnic or cultural background you may come from.  From Long Beach, to Malibu, to Arcadia, and of course Burbank.

Of all the features Los Angeles offers, perhaps the most compelling for those with a high stress lifestyle is the ability to get out of the city, from virtually anyplace within the city.  You are never far away from the ocean, mountains, large parks, or the high desert.  In the case of Burbank, we have the Verdugu Mountains, with a web of several dozen miles of trails crossing a mountain range between Burbank City and the 210 Freeway.

The easiest way to get into the mountains is through trail gateways, either via Stough Park, or Wildwood Canyon.  Wildwood Canyon also has numerous picnic areas, in addition to hiking path entries directing hikers though a variety of ridges and valleys.  From the top of each ridge you will see a panoramic view of both the San Fernando Valley, as well as the skyline of downtown Los Angeles.

There is nothing quite like a sunrise or sunset from atop of any ridge peaks the Verdugus have to offer.  After a long day at the office, it is impossible to carry a grudge, frustration, or anger once you hit the top, and start to see the horizon rushing to meet the sun.

Fire Trails or Jogging Trails

wildwood canyonOf course Southern California is also known for epic wildfires.  To help the fire fighters limit damage to communities during fire season, most urban mountain areas also have fire roads carved into the hillsides.  Indeed, this tears up the landscape a bit, but it also provides miles of jogging and hiking trails in a protected environment.  No cars, trucks, motorcycles, or skateboards to annoy runners after a rough day at work.  Your only companions are deer, rabbits, coyote, red tail hawks, lizards, and an occasional snake.

Hikers are always welcome, and it is also a fact your human encounters are always friendly.  A couple words about the coyotes seen further up the trail, a word or two about the beauty of chaparral, or the sunset.  Of course the early bird runners can easily make the same statements on sunrises over the Los Angeles basin, but sunset is the best time of day in the Verdugus.  Peaceful, calm, and far away from the stresses of life.

But not too far, as the trails are near enough for runners starting from anyplace from anyplace east of the ‘5, and for drivers there is ample parking in the area for those coming from further out in the city.

Back Down the Hill

Another perfect run, another coyote sighting, a small snake, lots of rabbits, and I have forgotten everything thing I know about diesel generators, UPSs, automatic transfer switches, and computer room air conditioning.

Back home, and a message on Mr. Android.  “A customer is complaining his cabinet is over heating.  He has done everything right, including adding 2 inch spaces between all servers and alternating them intake/exhaust through the cabinet to ensure proper airflow and cooling.  What should we do?”

Sigh…

Filed under Burbank, LA Life Tagged with , ,

Managing Disasters with Internet Utilities

August 19, 2010 Leave a Comment

Fire season is here. Southern California fire departments and forestry services are urging residents to cut back brush on their properties and create “defensible space” Burbank is in a High Risk Period for Wildfirebetween the dry chaparral and their homes. Local news stations have spooled their resources to bring fire-related journalism to the population. And, we have already seen extreme technology such as DC-10s and 747s dumping insane amounts of Foscheck and water to quickly knock down fires which have popped up early in the season.

Southern California has fires, just as Kansas has tornadoes and Florida has hurricanes. Disasters are a natural part of nature and life. How we deal with natural disasters, our ability to survive and overcome challenges, and how we restore our communities defines our society.

Technology tools in place or being developed are having a major impact on our ability to react, respond, and recover from disaster. In the early stages of any disaster, communication is key to both survival and response. As nearly every person in the world is now tethered to a wireless device, the communication part isDefensible space to avoid brush fires becoming much easier, as even the most simple handset will support basic features such as text messaging and voice communications.

Getting the Message Out

Over the past 25 years the world has adopted Internet-enabled communications in a wide variety of formats for everything from email to citizen journalism. It is hard to find an event occurring anyplace in the world that is not recorded by a phone camera, YouTube video, blog, or real time broadcast.

In the 2008 Santa Barbara Tea Fire students from UC Santa Barbara used Twitter to warn fellow students and local residents to get out of the fire’s path as it raced through 2000 acres and more than 210 houses within the city limits. While it is not possible to put a statistic on the value of Twitter on evacuations and emergency notification, interviews following the fire with students revealed many had their initial notification through Twitter lists, and indicated they were able to get out of areas consumed in the fire (while screaming the heads off to others in the neighborhood to get out) before public safety officials were able to respond to the fire.

NOTE: I was driving through Santa Barbara (along the ’101) during the initial phase of the fire, and can personally verify the fire moved really, really fast through the city. It looked like lava streaming out of a volcano, and you could see houses literally exploding as the fire hit them and moved through… I wasted no time myself getting through the city and on the way to LA.

Houses in Burbank's Verdugu MoutnainsThis article will not review all the potential technologies or software becoming available for emergency notifications, however we will look at the basic utility enabling all the great stuff happening to keep our citizens safe. The Internet.

Internet’s Utility is Now Bigger than Individuals and Companies

We all remember the infamous interview with Ed Whitcare, former CEO at AT&T.

Q: How concerned are you about Internet upstarts like Google, MSN, Vonage, and others?

A: How do you think they’re going to get to customers? Through a broadband pipe. Cable companies have them. We have them. Now what they would like to do is use my pipes free, but I ain’t going to let them do that because we have spent this capital and we have to have a return on it. So there’s going to have to be some mechanism for these people who use these pipes to pay for the portion they’re using. Why should they be allowed to use my pipes?

The Internet can’t be free in that sense, because we and the cable companies have made an investment and for a Google or Yahoo or Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes [for] free is nuts!

This statement, clearly indicates many in the internet network and service provider business do not yet get the big picture of what this “4th Utility” represents. The internet is not funny cat videos, porn, corporate web sites, or Flickr. Those features and applications exist on the Internet, but they are not the Internet.

Internet, broadband, and applications are a basic right of every person on the planet. The idea that two network administrators might have an argument at a bar, and subsequently consider the possibility of “de-peering” a network based on personalities or manageable financial considerations borders on being as irresponsible as a fire department going on strike during a California wildfire.

From http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/09/evergreen-supertanker/As a utility, the Internet has value. Just as electricity, water, or roads. The utility must be paid for either before or after use, however the utility cannot be denied to those who need the service. When a city grows, and attracts more traffic, residents, and commerce, the intent is normally not to restrict or control the process, you build better roads, better infrastructure, and the people will eventually pay the price of that growth through taxes and utility bills. The 4th Utility is no different. When it gets oversubscribed, it is the carrier’s responsibility to build better infrastructure.

Disputes between network administrators, CFOs, or colocation landlords should never present a risk that SMS, Twitter, email, or other citizen journalism could be blocked, resulting is potential loss of life, property, and quality of life.

Communicating in the Dangerous Season

Fire season is upon us. As well as riots, traffic congestion, government crackdowns, take downs, and other bad things people need to know so they can react and respond. The Internet delivers CalTrans traffic information to smart phones, SMS, and web browsers to help us avoid gridlock and improve our quality of life. Twitter and YouTube help us understand the realities of a Tehran government crackdown, and Google Maps helps guide us through the maze of city streets while traveling to a new location.

We have definitely gone well past the “gee whiz” phase of the Internet, and must be ready to deal with the future of the Internet as a basic right, a basic utility, and essential component of our lives.

Net neutrality is an important topic – learn more about network neutrality, and weigh in on how you believe this utility should be envisioned.

Filed under Burbank, citizen journalism, Government Regulatory, Internet and Telecom, Open Topics, Social Issues, Social Networking Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Social Media Enabling Asia

July 15, 2010 3 Comments

The Huffington Post recently posted a blog by Thomas Crampton highlighting some of the differences between social media use in Asian countries vs. the United States. Much of it driven by broadband deployment in technically advanced countries like South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong (yes, I know…), much of it a burning desire by young people in developing countries who want to expand their social and intellectual evolution.

Indonesia is now the second largest user of Facebook in the world. Poor broadband access (generally), low disposable income to buy personal computers, and moral guidelines pressuring young people to follow religious values. How is it possible they could develop that fast?

Growth rates in broadband and mobile access are astounding, with statistics such as Vietnam’s mobile Internet users growing 846% in 2009, 84.3% of Japanese online to the Internet with a mobile phone, and 48.6% of Hong Kong mobile users connecting with a smart phone.

Oh, and mobile phones in Asia are inexpensive. Really, really inexpensive. Almost anybody can afford a mobile phone, and many do – occasionally at the expense of clothing, food, and shelter. In fact, I was able to buy a prepaid phone with around 250 minutes in Jakarta for less than US$20, with messaging, simple data access, and other net-enabled applications.

So the mobile phone represents a means of communication, added to a basic social status issue, and a door to emotional and intellectual exploration and freedom.

What is different in Asia than in the US?

Well, a couple of things for certain. When you start with nearly zero social and technical penetration, and you have the benefit of receiving a relatively mature technology, then it is easy to statistically go from zero to nine hundred miles an hour.

Also, consider the average young person in a country like Indonesia or Vietnam. You go to the occasional movie, you have an opportunity to watch foreign television shows, and you realize it is a very, very big world. Lots of diversity you would not be exposed to without the benefit of technology. Even more, you understand there are real people living in that huge world who are not simple digital renditions of a movie producer’s fantasy.

The Internet helps bring a young person in Jakarta, Samarinda, Semarang, Banda Aceh, or Merauke to Paris, Cape Town, or Burbank. Facebook puts a name and face to distant lands, cultures, and people. And when that young person goes home to their dormitory, house, or relocation home they have a glimmer, even if it is a faint glimmer, of hope that life could be better than it is today.

And Internet access, with social networking provides an additional escape. Whether it be joining a virtual gaming community, or chatting with persons on a different continent, you are able to escape your surroundings for a brief moment. That moment may be in an Internet café (WarNets in Indonesia), it may be in a home, or it may be at school.

Of course, not everybody in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, or Laos are poor or underprivileged.

Social Freedom

Asian culture is different than western culture. In many countries it is not easy to be open with relationships, activities, or personal preferences. While American kids certainly find their escape in gaming and social networking, it is even more of an outlet for many young people in Asia.

If you live in a strict religious environment – as many in Asia do, which restricts your ability to freely express yourself in the local “real” community, being able to develop new ideas, discover new ideas outside the control of your “thought leaders,” is an attraction. Facebook and other social networking sites offer a global conduit of hundreds of millions of other people who may also desire to share experiences and ideas.

And the Future

In the past, Americans enjoyed a fair level of economic and social security based on high levels of education, and the desire to increase their status and quality of life. We looked at developing countries with little interest, and in fact many Americans still cannot find more than a dozen countries on a world map.

Young people in developing countries such as those in Asia, who are included in those astonishing statistics of locations rapidly embracing technology and social networking, are hungry. Hungry not only for knowledge, but also hungry to improve their quality of life, with an added hook of national identity and pride.

The intellectual skills gained through accessing Internet and diffusing global communications into their life will give those persons in developing countries the same intellectual tools American enjoy, putting them on a level intellectual playing field. With the additional ability to participate in eLearning, those intellectual tools become more important – particularly when compared to the dwindling education levels and achievements in America’s education system.

Social networking sites may help draw young people to the Internet, but once there the skills learned far outweigh the social value Facebook or other sites provide. With the largest countries in the world representing the fastest growing component of the internet (China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand), within another generation or two those young people may intellectually match or exceed the capabilities of their age group counterparts in the United States and Europe.

This is all good, as educated people generally are much more likely to quickly recover from disasters, are less likely to become involved in extremist movements, and are more likely to break down political, cultural, and secular barriers that have polarized nations in the past.

It is scary to Americans, as we will need to prepare ourselves to accept the rest of the world as our intellectual and economic equals. It is inevitable.

Filed under Burbank, International ICT, Internet and Telecom, Open Topics, Social Issues, Social Networking Tagged with , , , , ,

Riding the Economic Roller Coaster of TransJakarta Route 1

July 3, 2010 1 Comment

The little girl, not more than 4 or 5 years old, was lying motionless in a fetal position, discarded like trash, on a ramp leading to the Sarinah station on TransJakarta‘s Route 1. Passersby displayed only one emotion – annoyance they had to step over, or step around the little body. A little body that had never known the joy of a birthday party, the warmth of a nurturing family, or a family picnic in the park.

Showing the main routes, including Route 1Two stops down the road, at the Tosari Station, sits Plaza Indonesia, an icon to opulence with customers slurping iced lattes and munching scones at a Starbucks, taking a much needed break from power shopping at Christian Dior or Cartier.

The TransJakarta is Jakarta’s attempt at building a mass transit system within the capital city. With 7 major routes, it rivals cities such as Los Angeles in the ability to serve large numbers of people needing to get around the large metropolitan area of Jakarta. All riding on buses traversing dedicated busways which bypass some of the epic traffic jams which routinely gridlock nearly all areas of the city.

Route 1 begins at Blok M, and slices its way through the city center to Station Kota at the north end of Jakarta. Riding the route takes about 40 minutes, and you get to experience all the good, the bad, and the ugly of Jakarta.

Starting at Blok M

Medium qaulity mall near Blok M StationBlok M is known for both shopping and nightlife. With shopping malls running from hundreds of small kiosks in the Blok M Terminal, to new higher end shopping malls within 100 meters of the terminal, Blok M has all the shopping you can handle. But it is the nightlife that most foreigners and expats consider when heading to Blok M. Blok M is known for loud bars, with wall-to-wall working girls, and taxi drivers who take the dumber tourists on long rides throughout the city of Jakarta while enroute to hotels and other destinations.

Station from top of RampThe other part of Blok M is the dust, the trash piling up on streets and sidewalks, and grubby little kids asking for money. Always the kids asking for money.

You work your way up Route 1 to the beginning of a scattering of high end shopping malls, including Senayan City, Pacific Place, Plaza Semmangi, and Plaza Indonesia. Immediately adjacent to most high end shopping malls are small communities of homeless people living in cardboard boxes or lean-to shacks. There is the irony, you go shopping or eating donuts a J. Co at City Walk Mall, and the trek back to your hotel passes through a fairly large homeless community surrounding the Intercontinental Hotel or le Meridien.

The Le Meridien Pool next to Abandoned Construction SiteEach station requires you to walk up a ramp, cross an over pass, and walk down another ramp to the bus ticket stand and platform. Passing children and a photo album of disabled persons with ailments that – if you do not harden your heart and soul to the images, will keep you up long hours at night thinking.

The entire corridor leading from Senayan City to the area around the National Monument (MONAS) resembles a deep ravine resting between skyscrapers hitting 60+ stories housing every multinational company in existence. There is a tremendous amount of money passing back and forthnear the Monument MONAS Bus Station between the buildings creating this Grand Canyon of Jakarta. You can dine at the Jakarta Hard Rock Café, the Outback Steak House, Tony Romas, or Burger King and McDonalds – all within a 15 minute bus ride on the TJ-1.

Heading North to the Kota Station

As you pass the National Monument, Jakarta’s landscape starts to change back to the dust and poverty we started with at Blok M. The buildings start to show more and more signs of decay, the people showing more and more signs of despair, and the smell of open sewage hits your senses. Then you realize it is actually a small stream, a living part of the sewage system, and there are children playing next to it.

You cannot escape the smell near streamsAdd the thick, syrupy smell of diesel exhaust, 2 stroke motor engines, and sidewalk vendors cooking over open fire, and you wonder how a child could possibly make it to 5 years old without serious lung problems.

You pass Mangga Besar and Olimo, famous in the expat community for its massage parlors and prostitution, and finally find your way to the end of the line at Station Kota. Straddling the port on one side, a shopping mall on the east (Mangga Duo), and a concentration of museums adjacent to the station, it is a mix of images and senses that don’t quite fit into one small geographic postage stamp in the city.

A poriton of sky scraper alley in JakartaOne afternoon, 20 bus stations, and a million images, emotions, and memories. Nowhere in the world can you observe the best and worst of life in such concentration. As a foreigner, taking pictures of everything I see, you would expect a reaction of annoyance and contempt from those who become part of your album. But not once did I receive a negative response, a sharp comment, or even a cold stare. Almost a feeling of people wanting the scenes to be recorded, preserved forever. Recorded so nobody forgets Jakarta the way it is, was, and provide a basis for what Jakarta can aspire to for the future.

I won’t use a picture of the little girl on the ramp, as it would be a dishonor to her memory. But I won’t forgetObama at Plaza Indonesia that a little life, and her memory is recorded, and the image will never be lost. Too bad she couldn’t beg, I would have given her something, anything.

900 words in a blog cannot describe Jakarta. It is a wonderful city, one of the great cities in the world. Great memories, horrifying memories.

LA has South Central, San Francisco the Tenderloin District, Chicago has the South Side, and Honolulu has Hotel Street. We cannot be sanctimonious, as every country and city has poverty and rough areas.

Bus station near Le Meridien HotelAt some point, whether it is the Philippines, Mongolia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, Uganda, or Palestine, poor areas all start looking the same. The sad thing is that once they all start looking the same, we become accustomed to seeing poverty, and it does not bother us any longer. It almost becomes expected and natural to step over little girls discarded on the side of a road.

Then we are in an airplane, 16 hours later we pop out in Burbank, and again prioritize worrying abHigh Tech mall near Station Kotaout getting a jaywalking ticket for walking across San Fernando Road outside of a painted cross walk on your way to Fuddruckers.

It is a roller coaster

NOTE:  You can see full sized pictures by clicking on each photo.

You can see all photos HERE

Filed under Burbank, Social Issues Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Under Siege in Jakarta

May 15, 2010 2 Comments

Entering any major hotel in Jakarta is a multi-stage process. First you pass by security staff near the entrance to the hotel at the street. Security staff look over the car, the passengers, and make a screening decision prior to allowing the car or taxi entrance into the hotel driveway. Then you have swarm of security staff checking under the hood, the passenger compartment, the trunk, and an examination of the under carriage with mirrors. Next, at the hotel lobby entrance, another metal detector, bag check, and a friendly “thank you” as you enter the lobby. Try to go to dinner, and another bag check at the hotel restaurant entrance.

May 14th, 2010.

JAKARTA, May 14 (UPI) — Indonesian police have accused arrested terrorist suspects of planning to assassinate the president and foreigners. The alleged targets included Americans during an Independence Day ceremony set for August.

The head of the country’s police force said the planned attack against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was supposed to happen at the State Palace on Aug. 17. The four suspects, one of them shot dead during the police raid, were then going to declare Indonesia under the Islamic religious Sharia law.

July 18th, 2009.

VOANews.com. Investigations continued Saturday into the Friday bombings at two hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia that left nine people dead and at least 50 injured. Little information about the bombings is being released to the public. On Saturday, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited the sites where two bombs exploded at the Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels.  

On Friday the president said the bombings were acts of terrorism but he made no statement during the visits

May 12th, 2010.

JAKARTA, May 12 (Jakarta Post) — The police’s counterterrorism squad has captured 17 terrorist suspects alive and shot dead five others in a series of raids conducted since Thursday last week. Spokesman for the National Police Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said the five suspects were killed in the latest raids on two separate places in Cililitan, East Java and in Cikampek in West Java on Wednesday. The police also arrested a suspect in Cikampek..

“We arrested two yesterday [Tuesday] in Jakarta,” Edward said as quoted by kompas.com

Ritz Carlton Jakarta following terrorist bombingIn Jakarta you cannot walk into a major shopping mall – particularly one catering to foreigners, without going through a metal detector and passing by several security officers trained to identify suspect behavior. Drive through the city center, and you will pass dozens of trucks with army and police forces waiting on standby to respond quickly in the event an incident occurs.

All office buildings in the city center have similar security to the hotels, with multi-stage security checkpoints from the street to your office. Most are surrounded by barbed wire, high iron and concrete walls, and a density of security cameras that make London look weak.

Jakarta feels like a city under siege

In the United States a potential car bomber in Times Square results in hours of “expert” commentary on the cable news stations, most of it meaningless babble produced by experts who have no clue what is really happening, offering only their opinion based on the same information available to any normal citizen by reading accounts from UPI, Reuters, AP, or citizen journalists.

Americans are lead to believe we are the center of the war on terrorism, until you experience the level of security being delivered in a city like Jakarta.

“Muslims are not terrorists”

Indonesia, the fourth most populace nation in the world, is also the largest Muslim population in the world. Ordinary Muslims are not radicals, and my experience shows Indonesians treat each other with a level of respect and courtesy only dreamed about in a city like Los Angeles. Jakarta, as in any major city, has crime. However, having walked around most areas of Jakarta, and several other Indonesian cities, you do not feel threatened at the same level as a Caucasian may feel walking around East or South Central LA, parts of Brooklyn, North Philadelphia, or Washington D.C.

The terrorists in Indonesia, as in most of the world, keep invisible, hiding in plain sight until their button is pushed to produce their violence.

JAKARTA, Indonesia, July 19th 2009 (AP) — The terrorist attacks that struck two luxury hotels in the capital have shaken ordinary Indonesians who had grown more confident after waves of arrests had left the nation’s al-Qaida-linked militant network seriously weakened. Coming four years after the country’s last serious terrorist attack, Friday’s twin suicide bombings at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta unleashed a new wave of anxiety in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.

Co-workers in Indonesia are anxious to let foreigners know they are not terrorists. In any Indonesian office, you have a mix of Muslims, Christians, and indigenous religions represented among the staff. They all get along well, never argue over their ideologies or barbed wires surrounding a major hotel in central Jakartaphilosophies, but do occasionally compare notes on the difference in their faith and cultures. And of course there is a bit of friendly teasing and rivalry between those hailing from Sumatra, Java, Bali, or Kalimantan. Just like people from diverse cultures in any large country.

When a foreigner enters the conversation, the talk does eventually work its way into opinions on terrorism. Most people are afraid, and want everybody to know that Indonesians are not terrorists. Much like the United States, in a country with nearly 260 million people there will be incidents that are violent, and not representative of the population.

And they know Indonesia’s reputation as a sanctuary for terrorism is hurting their image.

Times Online, July 17th, 2009 — Manchester United will not play their match against an Indonesia Super League XI in Jakarta on Monday following today’s bomb attacks. The club hopes, however, that the game can be switched to Kuala Lumpur, having arrived there this morning.

At least nine people, including some foreigners, were killed and at least 50 were injured in two large explosions at luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital. Sir Alex Ferguson and his squad were due to fly to Jakarta tomorrow evening and to stay at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, one of the terrorist targets.

As an international community, we need to offer countries like Indonesia our support in finding terrorists, and eliminating the threat from their country, and the world. As an international community we will have much better success protecting the safety and security of all nations if we work together as an international community, not only on a government to government level – but also on a human level. It is not an issue of Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, or Buddhists – it is a matter of accepting each other’s differences, and working together to improve our global quality of life.

Idaho’s white supremacist Christians are no better than Afghanistan or Pakistan’s Muslim fundamentalists – all distort and corrupt their claimed faith in the interest of power. And then preach their word through terrorism and violence against those who are not like them.

In Jakarta the siege continues. After a couple days security in the face of everybody becomes oddly comforting. When I go to sleep in my central Jakarta hotel room I feel that I am as safe as possible from violence directed at foreigners in my hotel, and I have no problem presenting my backpack for inspection at a shopping mall or office building. I am somewhat saddened society has come to this point, but I am very happy Indonesians are just as tired of violence as anybody else, and have finally put their foot down and begun securing their country.

Imagine having to pass through a metal detector and screening prior to ordering a latte at the Starbucks on San Fernando Rd in Burbank.  That is Jakarta.

Filed under citizen journalism, LA Life, Social Issues Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Life without Internet in Ethiopia

March 8, 2010 9 Comments

For the first time in over ten years, I spent the night without Internet access. Ten years of working in remote parts of Mongolia, Vietnam, Palestine, Indonesia, and other small and developing countries, and in March 2010 I finally hit the access wall. My hotel in Addis Ababa does not have Internet access. And not a single WiFi or wireless connection available nearby.

Maybe it is just not realistic to believe that in the year 2010 travelers or residents of a major city like Addis Ababa would enjoy the same sense of Internet entitlement we enjoy in other parts of the world.  It is probably more realistic to think fresh water is a higher priority than Facebook.  Probably a higher priority to think that basic nutrition is a higher priority to some people in the world than Twitter.

Having been plucked up from the opulence of Burbank, California, where Friday afternoon brought the amusement of watching about 50 SUVs and minivans queuing to pick up elementary and middle school children, as it is not reasonable to expect children to walk more than 100 yards from school to home, being denied email and net access for a night is shocking.

Does the Opulent World Owe the Developing World Anything?

There is an old phrase explaining that “nobody likes a victim.”  When natural disasters occur, wars create a large number of refugees, or other events propel people to leave their homelands for safer places, the countries and people who are forced to absorb those refugees normally look at them with contempt.  It is one thing to watch the impact of a typhoon or earthquake on a country via CNN, and maybe donate a few dollars to help bring food, but in most cases we want to watch a different story on the next day’s news, and we rarely welcome refugees with open arms into our community.

 Easy to understand why.  As a society and culture, wealthy countries have normally built their communities with hard work, and the residents enjoy the quality of life they’ve built.  Visitors are welcome, but communities often find it difficult to absorb new people, particularly those with no money or have lost nearly everything they owned, into a community with a stable economy, school system, and social system.

We have some compassion for those who are in need, but much like driving past a major automobile accident on the freeway, we feel compelled to look, but then we drive past and soon forget the tragedy another human being is going through a few miles back on the road.

How We Reduce the Burden, and Strengthen our Global Community

For sure, Internet access may not purify or deliver water to those with a basic need.  However education delivered to all levels of economic or social groups will potentially bring better intellectual capacity to those residents and leaders in poor and developing countries to plan for the future, with the ever-increasing capacity of taking care of their own problems.  Educated people in most cases are simply better prepared to respond to disasters and problems when they occur.

Internet access is a very powerful tool in bringing basic and advanced education to any part of the world with a connection.  When a student in Addis Ababa, or any other part of the country, has the same access to online lectures, course materials, and even formal education programs over the Internet, the national capacity for dealing with topics ranging from developing water strategies, to energy, to agriculture, to entertainment all become one small step easier to attain than if the developing country had to do it on their own.

But what about UN and other NGO Programs?

Like the community that does not want to be burdened with a long term, recurring commitment to absorbing refugees, global philanthropy has a time threshold.  New disasters are happening daily.  New wars are popping up around the world at the same rate as ever, and when your own disaster is falling behind the front page in priority, then it is the people of that location or country who eventually have to solve the problems on their own.

There are simply not enough resources, emotionally or economically to go around.

There is one common characteristic of communities which handle disaster better than others.  They are well educated.  California handles earthquakes and wildfires without bringing the state to a halt.  France handles major flooding and other weather-related disasters, Okinawa finds Super-Typhoons a passing amusement, and Japan has tsunami response down to a science.

Sure, those countries have money, but even Japan and Germany started out with nearly no resources after the second war, and now are both economic powers.  It is education, and the resolve of an educated society.

Back to the Internet

Delivering online resources to poor countries is becoming cheaper and more powerful every day.  Wireless technologies are making fixed copper a legacy, and the cost of Netbooks and powerful workstations is dropping every day.  Localization and language translation are becoming more powerful every day.

Don’t stop delivering clean water, but let’s carefully consider the long term impact of delivering a tool to the nations of the world, including the area I stayed in Addis Ababa, and give everybody access to the same intellectual development tools as our kids in Burbank.

Check out resources published by the World Bank, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), US Agency for International Development (USAID), and others to find how we might better support development of eLearning in the developing world, as well as development of basic infrastructure.

Filed under Burbank, citizen journalism, Energy, environment, Government Regulatory, International ICT, Internet and Telecom, Social Issues Tagged with , , , , , ,

A Developing Country That Can Teach Hawaii An IT Strategy Lesson

February 1, 2010 Leave a Comment

Vietnam is in the process of upgrading the entire country’s IT system. With support from organizations such as the World Bank, Vietnam is rebuilding not only physical infrastructure, but also starting from the ground up building new IT systems – including a large scale virtualization strategy.

Hawaii may not be so progressive. The first line of an Associated Press story on Hawaii’s lack of a functional IT strategy goes like this:

“In many ways Hawaii’s government runs its computers like the Internet age hardly happened.” (AP)

The story goes on to expose Hawaii’s lack of IT policy, the fact they are using old systems, a mixture of Apple and PCs for individual users, have a 1960s version of disaster recovery (offsite physical diskette storage), and other parallels with industry that add more discouraging evidence to Hawaii’s IT shortfalls.

Sensationalizing the Obvious

Information Technology in HawaiiI’ve always found it very easy to criticize. Perhaps the role of a journalist is to sensationalize the shortfalls of others, as people do tend to like watching others suffer – as long as the pain stays in somebody else’s life or reputation.

OK, so Hawaii does have some shortfalls in their IT systems. As a user, I have to say my experience using Hawaii’s eGovernment applications hasn’t been too bad. A plus in the Hawaii IT strategy column. I have never had an email rejected from a Hawaii state email server. Another plus. I could probably rack up a lot of pluses, but it is not sensational.

Now let’s look at the difficult side of journalism. Writing something positive and still trying to make it interesting to the readers.

Vietnam is an interesting case study. A larger population, and a lot more government than Hawaii. More problems to deal with – but the government is trying to drive the national IT strategy down to the city level, decentralizing actual applications and access as much as possible to promote the independence of provinces and cities – without disrupting the national IT plan to standardize IT management throughout government.

Nobody would ever suggest the US government try to standardize data strategies down to the state level, much less the city level, however there is still an interesting lesson that can be applied from the Vietnam model.

Data format standards on a national scale can facilitate information sharing and data mining. We won’t go into the personal security issues of that statement in this article, however data format standardization is a good thing for government. The commercial world and manufacturing have had data format/classification standards for many years, including projects such as RosettaNet, XBRL, and UNSPSC.

Thus a driver’s license format in Danang would look identical to the same item in Hanoi – representing 2 very different provinces. Data can easily be shared as needed for identification, reporting, law enforcement, and other data transfer.

Standardization is good.

Enter Virtualization and the Cloud

If a government bureaucracy in a state like Hawaii has extended its inefficiencies into the world of IT, and as stated in quotes the AP article included:

  • Hawaii’s department-by-department way of handling information would not work in the business world, where companies invested heavily in upgrades as the Internet and computers grew in importance.
  • It’s like we had all these little companies and they all grew at the same time, and then when the big company came along and merged everything, it never made the changes.

Beautiful Island - Not So Impressive IT StrategyWell, even in deeply entrenched bureaucracies there has to be a scheduled refresh of technology at some point. Even those precious little Macs and PCs will eventually die, become so old they cannot even load a browser, or the state will grind to a halt because a day will come when no computer in the government will be able to open a Microsoft Word 2010 document.

Maybe, just maybe – much like the government of Vietnam has come to realize, that refresh strategy could include cloud computing. The city of Los Angeles has accepted cloud, and that city probably has a larger government and bureaucracy than the entire state of Hawaii.

The AP article mentions that Governor Lingle has tried to establish an Office of the CIO within Hawaii. Good idea. One that will ultimately save the state a lot of money. Let’s push our representatives to make that happen!

A Proposal

Now select a couple of good data center locations. A couple on Oahu, maybe one each on Maui and the Big Island. Start building cloud computing centers on each island, connect them via dedicated high speed links, synchronize data and applications, then inform the state that all new editions of office automation software will be using a hosted edition of Office 2010, or other high performance hosted package.

Bang – saved money on license fees, labor for installers (those guys who are paid to update your anti-virus software and load service packs on your computer), and high performance desktop and laptop computers.

Start refreshing with dumb terminals and netbooks.

Establish a real state-wide disaster recovery model:

  • Cloud-based virtualized storage
  • Central cloud-based email system
  • Distributed DR model using network-based backups in geographically separated locations
  • Dumb terminals and netbooks backup to the centralized data base and storage – not on local equipment (unless the worker is a traveler). Access to the data is still available from a distant end location through use of VPNs.

Retrain the IT staff on developing applications in the cloud – not on under-the-desktop servers.

Could it really be that simple? Actually – yes. In addition, if the state of Hawaii can build a storefront of applications (including Office 2010-like products), and make those applications available to users on a state-wide basis, and reduce provisioning time for applications to minutes rather than months, why wouldn’t we consider this as an option to what Sen. Donna Mercado Kim (D, Kalihi Valley-Halawa) was quoted as saying, “Every department has IT (information technology) people, and they each have their own way of doing things.”

Nonsense

Very 1970s… So not 2020s…

Vietnam is rebuilding their national infrastructure, the US government under the direction of CIO Vivek Kundra is rebuilding the national IT strategy. Hawaii can rebuild ours as well. And we have great examples and precedent to learn from.

Filed under citizen journalism, Cloud Computing, Government Regulatory, International ICT, Internet and Telecom, LA Life, Open Topics, Social Issues Tagged with , , , , ,

Southern California Tech Jobs Make a Comeback

January 27, 2010 1 Comment

2009 was a horrible year for job seekers, and even those holding on to existing jobs. No bonuses, no promotions, layoffs, and nobody hiring. And SoCal successfully beat most of the United States in unemployment claims, by several percentage points, attaching painful and empirical fact to the grim situation.

But that does appear to be changing. Slowly changing, but it is looking better for job seekers in the region. A recent scrape of job openings for Los Angeles and Orange Counties yielded some pretty strong job titles:

  • Director of Engineering – Marina Del Rey
  • Chief Integration Engineer – El Segundo
  • Director, information technology – San Clemente
  • VP Global Services – Los Angeles
  • Customer Services Director – El Segundo
  • Lead Systems Engineer – Los Angeles
  • Senior Industrial Director – Irvine
  • Smart GRID Architect – Rosemead
  • HL7 Integrator – Los Angeles
  • Disaster Recovery Manager – Irvine
  • Manager, Operations Systems – Van Nuys, CA
  • Systems Architecture Engineer – Huntington Beach, CA

And the list goes on… About 350 good positions listed in my 25 January search.

Tech Jobs are Out There in SoCalOne additional exciting trend in the job stack is the high number of positions in manufacturing industries. While the services market is great, manufacturing spawns input into the supply chain, which adds a lot of downstream value to those companies increasing or expanding their business operations.

Dust Off that Resume

The time is near, and technology-savvy job seekers will reap rewards if they are prepared for the next boom in business expansion. Cloud computing, unified messaging, IT operations, data center consolidation, process automation, green technologies – corporate jargon to some, but areas with increasing demand for qualified candidates.

Cloud computing and data center consolidation are quite interesting, admittedly because they are new and exciting trends in the IT community.

The Dot.Com era taught us painful lessons on the value of investment money. The venture community sat back after 2002 and made a decision to actually perform a bit of due-diligence prior to throwing money at PowerPoint companies and paper ideas. At least those which were not using private equity with large investments in real estate.

The Dot.OMG era is now just about at an end, and some of the lessons learned are focused on the execution of business plans and intelligent use of capital and operational expenses – while building business.

IT has gone from being a “darling” of the internet age, to a very powerful means of adding tremendous business value through globalization of markets, and real-time transaction processing to support the global economy and marketplace. The only problem was to support that IT engine, technical managers tried to solve their processing challenges by throwing more disk, processors, and bandwidth at their requirements.

The next age will be one where companies refocus their energy on developing their business, and begin to expect processing and IT to be more of a utility than an exceptional part of their business. Welcome to data center outsourcing, virtualization, cloud computing, and Software as a Service/SaaS. Recover the costs of expensive and inefficient data centers.

So those engineers and sales staff still hanging out in the Communicator’s Bar, get ready to get sized for your next retro-logo polo shirt. The time is now for those who can put their fantasy of re-entering the telecom community to deal in bilateral telephone minutes aside and get ready to support thought leadership strategies to bring customers into commercial data center outsourcing models – or go sell them on consolidating their in-house operations into enterprise clouds.

Look at the tech job listings again. Companies are begging for IT and tech visionary managers to solve their growth and development pain. Begging.

2010 is going to be a great year in SoCal, so let’s get out there and make sure it does not pass us by, and does not require our companies to go elsewhere to attract talent. We’ve got the talent right here, and we need to put it back to work.

Filed under Cloud Computing, International ICT, Internet and Telecom, LA Life, Social Issues, Virtualization Tagged with , , , , ,

Trouble at the Telecom and Communicator’s Bar

January 3, 2010 Leave a Comment

Have you heard the news? Unemployment is skyrocketing, companies are closing, there’s no investment money for startups, and the sky is falling, the sky is falling? Don’t I know, as the layoff frenzy hit my own Hanging out at the communicator's barhome, that it is a scary economic place to take a swim… Sharks, really hungry sharks, circling with an eye to take every last cent you have been able to hide.

And the outlook remains bleak. The New York Times reports that Europe is suffering in youth unemployment – even more than the US. 42.9% unemployment is Spain, 28% unemployment in Ireland, an EU average of 20.7% Makes California look like the “promised land.”

And, California may actually be the “promised land.” California still attracts the best of global engineering to the Silicon Valley, and the most creative minds in communications and entertainment to Los Angeles. Whether you are a European, Chinese, Indian, or even Canadian, Silicon Valley and LA offer an environment that is unsurpassed around the world. Our universities embrace people from other cultures and countries, and our ability to support entrepreneurs draws not only students, but the best engineers and thought leaders from around the world.

Back at the Communicator’s Bar

There are still tables with discussions reviewing the indignities of being laid off by struggling companies. There are still discussions with the whine of people talking about the “damn foreigners” who are here stealing our jobs. Still “barflys” slopped over the bar worrying about their Audi payments and how their ARM mortgage has put them under water.

Then there are other bars with tables full of Americans, And A scatter shot of foreigners talking about fun stuff. Fun stuff like cloud computing, virtualization, globalization, distributing computing, “the network is the computer,” “the computer is the network,” and how the carriers will return to their roots of providing high quality “big, fat, dumb” telecom pipes. The talk is of how we can finally start putting all this intellectual property that we’ve spent billions n producing Powerpoint slides into reality.

Green is here

Virtualization is here

Data Center outsourcing is here

2010 is a blank whiteboard set up to codify the thought leadership and technology spawned in the waning years of the 200x decade and put it into business plans and CAPEX budgets.

2010 is the year we aggressively deliver Internet-enabled technology to every man, woman, and child in the world who has a desire to live a life beyond killing their own food for dinner. Here is a funny though – if a radical 8 year old in one currently scary country is able to Yahoo chat or Facebook their way into discussions and relationships with kids in California and Beijing, doesn’t it make just a little sense the desire to blow each other up would be diluted, even just a little?

If the guy living next to me is producing a telecom switch that is head and shoulders above what is currently on the market, do I really care if his brain was conceived in Hanoi?

2010 is also the beginning of a true period of globalization. That doesn’t mean out hillbilly friends in Duluth, Minnesota have to quit drinking 3.2 beer and hanging out at setup bars watching Vikings reruns, it means that the hillbilly’s kid can participate in a lecture series online from Stanford or MIT. The kid might eventually invent a pickup truck that runs on pine cones, and a 3.2 beer that is actually palatable.

Embrace 2010

If not for the simple fact you have no other choice, consider all the great ideas being pumped out by companies like 3tera, the Google borg, Microsoft, VM Ware, and all the other companies with tremendous innovative ideas. Never before in our history have some many new intellectual and business tools been put on the shelf at the same time. Never before have we had such good reason to consider implanting those ideas (yes, I am a tree hugger and do believe in global warming).

So, even if you are currently living in a car under a bridge near you former upscale Orange County community – shave, wash your car, take a shower at the beach, and let’s get our depression, anger, tacit knowledge back into the business saddle. The young guys still need our experience to get their feet on the ground, and we need them to ensure we will have social security in the future.

Welcome 2010 – you have taken a long time to arrive

John Savageau, Honolulu

Filed under Cloud Computing, Consulting, Entrepreneurs, environment, International ICT, Internet and Telecom, LA Life, Social Issues, Social Networking, startup business, Virtualization Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

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