Everything that can be invented has been invented Charles H. Duell US commissioner of patents 1899
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This page explores the options in technology available to the community for developing "the last mile" from Palo Alto's existing fiber ring to our homes and businesses. The options are: Fiber to the curb - Extend the fiber ring to each and every residence and business that chooses to connect to the ring. This option is the most technically advanced and expensive alternative since it essentially brings fiber to the door. Fiber 101 Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) - Use Cable Co-op's presently unused B co-ax cable to connect the fiber ring to those residences and businesses which choose to have access to the fiber ring. This option opens the door to allowing all communities under the Joint Powers agreement (East Palo Alto, Atherton, Menlo Park and Stanford and some unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County) presently served by Cable Co-op to have access to Palo Alto's fiber ring. Wireless - Connect Palo Alto's fiber ring via wireless to those who wish to receive the service. While it may not have the bandwidth muscle of fiber infrastructure, a wireless infrastructure provides many advantages. Installation takes only weeks, and installation costs are in the tens of thousands, rather than hundreds of thousands, of dollars. To see how this technology is being used to make affordable Internet access to ethnically and economically marginalized communities in rural areas visit Dave Hughes' Website. Phone Lines - Use Pac Bell's existing copper lines to provide Pac Bell's ISDN (Integrative Service Digital Network) or its newer xDSL (Digital Subscriber Line) as the primary means of connecting homes and businesses to Palo Alto's fiber ring. Satellite - Use proposed future satellite services to bring fiber to the homes and businesses. An example of this is Teledesic which uses a constellation of several hundred low-Earth-orbit satellites and promises to provide worldwide access to "fiber-like" telecommunications services such as broadband Internet access, digital voice, data, videoconferencing and interactive multimedia. Essentially a global, broadband "Internet-in-the-sky". See Satellite Fantasies: 'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky(NYT - June 12, 1996). Combination - Use a combination of 1) Cable Co-op's co-ax cable to connect those homes and businesses which want that service, 2) fiber to the door for those homes or businesses which are prepared to pay the full cost for that installation and service, 3) wireless or 4) Pac Bell's ISDN or Pac Bell's xDSL lines for those residences or businesses unable to have access to the ring any other way, and 5) Satellite connection when that becomes available to those who want it. . Comparison Of Speed/Time How long would it take to transmit the entire Encylopedia Britannica, including its graphics and photographs, over the internet? b>Phone Lines 28.8 kbps modem 8 days 56 kbps modem 4 days T-1 phone line (1.54 mbps) 3.6 hours. T-3 phone line (44.7 mbps) 7.5 minutes. Fiber Optic Lines: OC1 (optical line) (51.8 mbps). 6.4 minutes. OC3 (optical line) (155.5 mbps) 2.1 minutes. OC48 (2.48 gigabits per second) 9 seconds. OC192 (9.95 gigabits per sec.) 2 seconds.) NOTE: Kbps equals kilobits per second. Mbps equals megabits per second. A gigabyte is a thousand megabytes. Source: City of Palo Alto Utilities Department. FIBER-OPTIC CABLE IS: An alternative to traditional copper or steel wire A flexible glass cable carrying beams of light modulated by electrical signals Much speedier than copper wire; has tremendous band width Now competitive in price with copper wire, installation problems have been resolved. by Marvin & Alison Lee and Joe A Villareal

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Everything that can be invented has been invented
Charles H. Duell US commissioner of patents 1899
Please direct all comments, suggestions, error corrections, questions to Joe A Villareal