EoW March 2013

Transatlantic cable

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Duke, and Wake Forest – put together a request for proposals (RFP) for a project to bring a next-generation broadband network to a large region of the state. (“First Steps Taken to Build Gigabit Network in North Carolina,” 1 st February). † Gig U and the NC Next Generation Network are hoping that their RFP will attract both existing and new broadband providers to bid on building and running a network that will o er broadband download speeds of at least 1 Gbps. A 2 nd April deadline was set for the proposals, and – presuming all goes well – service under the plan will be o ered within 18 months. Ms Reardon wrote: “The hope is that this regional high-speed network will bring many bene ts to the community, including advances in telemedicine, distance learning, and new industries that will create new jobs. Gig U, which was started two years ago, has already helped raise more than $200 million in private investment for these new networks. So far, Gig U has helped jump-start two major projects with the help of an initiative called Gigabit Squared. In Seattle and Chicago, Gigabit Squared is spearheading projects with the University of Washington and University of Chicago, respectively, to bring super high-speed broadband to parts of these cities. † But the e ort in North Carolina will be the largest network project facilitated through Gig U to date. It will cover at least four cities in the Triangle Park area of North Carolina including Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Winston Salem. Dorothy Fabian – USA Editor

The news reporter knows that cities and towns across the US want cutting-edge broadband service to give them an edge both domestically and internationally. And policy makers in state houses as well as in Washington DC agree that building next-generation broadband networks would help boost economic development. Moreover, the e ort has friends in high places. President Barack Obama has talked up the importance of improving broadband infrastructure, as has former President Bill Clinton in his appearances before tech audiences. And Ms Reardon noted that, recently, Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski stated a goal of getting gigabit-speed broadband services to all 50 states by 2015. But, according to a report cited by the FCC, so far only 42 communities across 14 states have ultra-high-speed broadband. Google’s much publicised Kansas City project, in Missouri, is one. Other initiatives for gigabit broadband services have been led by local municipalities. Cities such as Lafayette, Louisiana, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, are in the van of the municipal bre movement. In Chattanooga, the FCC says, the bre network deployed to 170,000 residences helped lure big companies like Volkswagen and Amazon to the community, which has created more than 3,700 new jobs over the past three years. Now, Ms Reardon reported, the Gig U coalition of universities that helps college towns across the US get wired with super-fast broadband is taking a major step toward bringing gigabit speed broadband networks to a larger constituency. In February, Gig U announced that it has helped the North Carolina Next Generation Network, a group made up six communities and four universities – North Carolina State,

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March 2013