Volo Broadband and the Digital Divide

1. Volo Broadbandand the Digital Divide -- Peter Folk <peter@volo.net>

2. Overview • About me and Volo • How Volo works • How the internet works – The big picture • Wireless last mile • Volo Topology • The Federal Stimulus Package • The rural digital divide • Champaign County Backbone • Champaign County Volo • Discussion

3. Local ISP—providing high speed internet to the Champaign-Urbana area Cutting-edge technology 4x faster than DSL, Cable 2x faster than T1 Covers most of C-U area Cutting-edge price (~$30/mo) Unprecedented ease of use Multiple computers no-hassle Automatic firewall protection Community-friendly Supports free wireless initia-tives for low-income areas Free service to schools & churches High-tech School-to-work Program Active in Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations Developing technology to help people meet their neighbors Volo: The Facts Total user satisfaction / Total community support -- Peter Folk, CEO and founder

4. Overview • About me and Volo • How Volo works • How the internet works – The big picture • Wireless last mile • Volo Topology • The Federal Stimulus Package • The rural digital divide • Champaign County Backbone • Champaign County Volo • Discussion

5. The Big Picture Yahoo Network Access Point Google Local Website Your ISP Tier 1 Provider (eg AT&T) Your House CNN Tier 1 Provider (eg Sprint)

6. The Big Picture Yahoo Network Access Point Google Local Website Your ISP Tier 1 Provider (eg AT&T) Your House CNN Tier 1 Provider (eg Sprint) Connections can be fast (aka big) or slow (aka small), sending more or less information each second: Bandwidth

7. Pipes and Packets • Only one person can talk at a time on a given line • So you break up the conversation into little pieces Their message: Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers… Local Website Your ISP Internet Your House Your message: We the people of the United States of America…

8. Pipes and Packets • Only one person can talk at a time on a given line • So you break up the conversation into little pieces => The Internet Protocol (IP) uses “packets” to allow many people to share one line Their message: Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers… Local Website Your ISP Four We th score and e peo seven year f the Internet Your House Your message: We the people of the United States of America…

9. Pipes and Packets • Only one person can talk at a time on a given line • So you break up the conversation into little pieces => The Internet Protocol (IP) uses “packets” to allow many people to share one line Their message: Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers… Local Website Your ISP Four We th sc ore and e peo seven year f the Internet Some packets are bigger than others Your House Your message: We the people of the United States of America…

10. Pipes and Packets • Only one person can talk at a time on a given line • So you break up the conversation into little pieces => The Internet Protocol (IP) uses “packets” to allow many people to share one line Bigger pipes carry more pps (packets per second) than the smaller pipe Your message: Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers… Local Website Your ISP Four We th sc ore and e peo seven year f the Internet Your House Your message: We the people of the United States of America…

11. More on Packets A packet can contain any kind of information: • Web text (about 1/3 page per packet) • Music (about 1/10th of a second) • Low-definition Video (1/5th of a second) • HD Video (1/200th of a second) • Digital photos (1/2000th of a high-resolution photo) • Phone (about 1/5th of a second fits in a big packet, but usually phone uses small packets with 1/20th of a second or less) • One connection can carry different services to your home, so long as they all use the “Internet Protocol” (IP)

12. Streaming Streaming is where you watch or listen to a program while it is being downloaded or uploaded: • Packets are received, played, and discarded, instead of being saved to permanent storage (like a hard drive) • Streaming a high-resolution TV episode requires 2mbps • Streaming a satellite-quality TV channel requires 8mbps or more • Streaming upload of low-definition video (eg, video chat) requires .5 mbps or more • New services will require more bandwidth. Streaming allows you to start watching or listening much sooner than if you had to download a whole program but you have to stream it again next time you want to watch it!

13. Bandwidth The Bandwidth of your connection determines what content is usable • “Upstream” bandwidth determines how quickly you can send something for someone else to look at, read, watch, hear, or play • “Downstream” bandwidth determines how quickly your connection can receive something for you to look at, read, watch, hear, or play • Bandwidth = packet size (in bits) * packets per second Download Download Start video Speed Song Movie (Streaming) Upload Photo 1mbps 36 seconds 1.6 hours 5 seconds 24 seconds 10mbps 3.6 seconds 36 mins .5 seconds 2.4 seconds 100mbps .3 seconds 3.6 mins .05 seconds .2 seconds 1gbps* .03 seconds 22 seconds .005 seconds .02 seconds * 1gbps = 1000mbps. Orange indicates “good enough”—faster than most people would notice.

14. The Big Picture Yahoo Network Access Point Google Local Website Your ISP Tier 1 Provider (eg AT&T) Your House CNN Tier 1 Provider (eg Sprint)

15. The Last Mile Your ISP Your House

16. Wireless Analogy Wireless communication is like talking in a room

17. Wireless Analogy Wireless communication is like talking in a room • You can talk fast or slow (fast = more BPS)

18. Wireless Analogy Wireless communication is like talking in a room • You can talk fast or slow (fast = more BPS) • Harder to hear if • You’re farther away • There are more people talking • There’s more background noise • You’re talking faster

19. Wireless Analogy Wireless communication is like talking in a room • More data per second = talking faster • Harder to hear if • You’re farther away • There are more people talking • There’s more background noise • You’re talking faster • You can break people up into groups • They can talk quieter and faster to each other • The groups’ leaders can talk to each other

20. Wireless Topology Options • Determines who can talk directly to whom

21. Wireless Topology Options • Determines who can talk directly to whom • Dependant on physical topology (distance, obstructions, etc)

22. Wireless Topology Options • Determines who can talk directly to whom • Dependant on physical topology (distance, obstructions, etc) Compare Urbana (“Tree City USA”) to Manhattan (big buildings)

23. Wireless Topology Options • Determines who can talk directly to whom • Dependant on physical topology (distance, obstructions, etc) • Dependant on radio characteristics (speed, power, congestion control)

24. Wireless Topology Options • Determines who can talk directly to whom • Dependant on physical topology (distance, obstructions, etc) • Dependant on radio characteristics (speed, power, congestion control) • Options: • Star (aka “hub and spoke”) • Mesh • Volo

25. Star topology Internet CPE (Customer Premise equip.) 2.4 or 5.8ghz radio signal 2-30mbps Radio Tower RJ45 Ethernet Wall Jack Customer Site Customer Site ~2-5 Mbps Ethernet Link Customer Site

26. Star notes • Cheap • Simple • BUT • Doesn’t scale well (>100 users)

27. Mesh topology Internet CPE (Customer Premise equip.) Customer site RJ45 Ethernet Wall Jack Customer Site Customer Site ~2-5 Mbps Ethernet Link Customers access ‘net through other customers Customer Site

28. Mesh notes • Organic • Low overhead • “Community” brownie points • BUT • Very inefficient (slow) • Unpredictable (who is offline if a customer quits?) • Short range (no towers)

29. Volo topology Umbrellas of coverage

30. Volo notes • Hierarchical cellular design • Low overhead initially • Wide coverage • Unlimited scaling • Predictable coverage • BUT • More towers

31. Overview • About me and Volo • How Volo works • How the internet works – The big picture • Wireless last mile • Volo Topology • The Federal Stimulus Package • The rural digital divide • Champaign County Backbone • Champaign County Volo • Discussion

32. The Federal Stimulus Package • $7.2 billion of Federal stimulus money is set aside for broadband • Targeting unserved (no internet) and underserved (slow internet) areas • Collaboration with and letters of support from Cities, townships, increases the likelihood of being funded • Applications submitted in August, grants will be awarded in December

33. The Rural Digital Divide • Infrastructure costs money • Time costs money • Rural areas have few people per unit area • Fewer people per infrastructure dollar • More wasted $ in support logistics • Service providers make up costs with high rates, up-front charges => Rural areas make less $$$, gets less infrastructure, and has high barrier to entry

34. Volo’s solution: CCBB • Champaign County Broadband Backbone • Bring C-U backbone resources to towers in rural areas • Requires a fiber backbone and 17 towers around the county • Goal: encourage local providers to service rural areas, provide better connections to schools • Cost: $1.5M for all of Champaign County CCBB => Lower infrastructure costs => better ROI Local providers => lower support costs

35. Volo’s solution: CCV • Champaign County Volo – A CCBB proof of concept • Deliver connections from the towers to households in rural areas • The speed of the service would be 5-25/mbps • Cost per household with stimulus: $45/month • Cost per household without stimulus $300-500 Installation plus $45/month • Goal: Subsidize initial investment for 1200 subscribers, to allow future subscribers to have $0 up-front cost

36. Discussion