The Pittsburgh INet

1
The Pittsburgh I-Net

• Opportunities
• Experiences
• Lessons
• Robert D. Carlitz
• Information Renaissance
• Pittsburgh, PA
• April 6, 2001

2
Opportunities

• Rebuild of cable system
• Fiber/coax hybrid
• Possibility of laying extra fiber
• Shared infrastructure
• City
• Schools
• Libraries
• Community groups

3
Themes

• Value of dark fiber
• Common needs of diverse groups
• Economies of scale for aggregated services and
  support
• Political complexity of building meaningful
  collaborations

4
Structures

• Citys negotiating team
• External consultants
• Schools
• Libraries
• I-Net Working Group
• Information Renaissance
• 80 community service organizations

5
Responses

• Rejection by ATT of dark fiber I-Net
• Preference for managed services
• Acquiescence of city to this position
• Evolution of parallel negotiations

6
Fragmented I-Nets

• City I-Net
• School I-Net
• Library I-Net
• Community I-Net
• Statement of Principles between ATT and the
  I-Net Working Group

7
Implementation Today

• Cable system partially built
• City I-Net - partially built
• School I-Net partially built
• Library I-Net partially built
• Community I-Net not yet built
• Alternative mechanisms for connectivity many
  possibilities

8
Alternatives

• Smart Buildings
• common backbone/shared Internet access
• shared user support
• Point to point wireless links
• rapid deployment/low recurring costs
• Excess capacity of school I-Net
• Public waves via DWDM

9
Practical Lessons

• Aggregation lowers costs
• New technologies enable service to new audiences
• Anchor tenants can make a network affordable
• Flexibility and creativity can exploit new
  technologies for public benefit

10
Philosophical Lessons

• The Digital Divide reflects a division between
  rich and poor
• The local regulatory process needs mechanisms
  that encourage the deployment of new technologies
  adequate to support sustainable community services