Conmergence

2008 Fiber To The Home Conference & Expo September 21 - 25, 2008 Gaylord Opryland® Resort & Convention Center, Nashville, TN

<ed.note>The conference's theme is "Linking Communities at the Speed of Light" but more intriguing to me is the the scheduled appearance of Don Tapscott (The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will Revolutionize Business, Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs, Creating Value in the Networked Economy, Blueprint to the Digital Economy: Creating Wealth in the Era of E-Business, Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation, The Digital Economy: Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence, Who Knows: Safeguarding Your Privacy in a Networked World, Paradigm Shift: The New Promise of Information Technology)  adreessing his latest work, Wikinomics How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. Implicit in Tapscott's writings is management's buy-in of the distrubuted digital enterprise-enabled results-only collaborative work environment. If you happen to be one of those creatures (especially if you are from Nashville), I invite you to join the Linkedin.com Project Net-Work group and Technology Nashville.</ed.note>

Sunday, September 21, 2008
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.	Registration Opens
Monday, September 22, 2008
7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.	Registration Opens
8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.	Developer Panel Workshop  *Additional fee*
8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.	Home Networking Workshop  *Additional fee*
1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.	Track Session - Series 100  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.	FTTH Executive Summit *By invitation only* Moderated by: Don Tapscott, Author
2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.	Track Session Series 200  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.	EXPO Grand Opening & Opening Reception *Open to all registered attendees*
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.	Registration Opens
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.	Continental Breakfast *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.	Opening General Session    *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only* Keynote Speaker - Don Tapscott, Author Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything Sponsored by: FTTH Council Awards Sponsored by: FTTxcellence Awards Sponsored by:
10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.	Refreshment Break    *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
10:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.	Global Carrier Keynote Panel   *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.	EXPO Hall Opens   *Open to all registered attendees*
12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m.	Luncheon in EXPO Hall  *Open to all registered attendees*
3:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.	ITCo Panel  *Conference Pass attendees only*
3:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.	Track Session Series 300  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
4:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.	Track Session Series 400   *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
5:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.	Track Session Series 500   *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.	International attendee Reception   *By invitation only*
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.	Registration Open
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.	Continental Breakfast  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.	Government and Regulatory Panel
8:00 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.	Track Session Series 600  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.	Track Session Series 700  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.	Refreshment Break  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.	Track Session Series 800  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 a.m.	Panel Session Series 900  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
12:15 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.	On Own for Lunch
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.	EXPO Hall Opens
4:15 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.	Closing General Session with Keynote Speaker  *Conference Pass and Day Pass attendees only*
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.	EXTRAVAGANZA - Closing Reception with Entertainment *Additional fee* "Don't forget your dancing boots!"
Thursday, September 25, 2008
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.	Post Conference Workshops

The Future of Companies Report at Global Futures and Foresight

<ed.note>David Smith sent a pointer to a new GFF study:</ed.note>

We are living in a period of great economic and political volatility. There are new global players entering every field of commercial endeavour and the political power brokers across the globe are changing rapidly.

India, China, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and a great many other countries are growing dramatically, creating new consumer societies and absorbing financial capital and human capital in their activities.

In the process new business models are emerging often being facilitated by the latest technologies.

Many of the issues facing our companies are common across the world. Even, the ability of the world to survive our economic activity is at stake.

Are we innovative enough to survive let alone thrive in this rapidly changing and risky environment.

Can we make the changes necessary to build our future?

This report will highlight some of the compelling drivers of change and offer questions for you to address in your own organisation to help you thrive.

Please download a copy. We hope it will help your business create a more secure future.

Our goal is to help organizations 'better prepare for the future'. So do feel free to call for our support.

Michael Robertson Crunches the Numbers on Higher Education

<ed.note> I'm a big fan of data-driven policy. I'm very appreciative of my college years but with the growth of the global knowledge economy empowered by the broadband build out and world-wide distance education offerings, the US economy is seeing a decoupling of college and university attendance and "gaining an education". The real catalyst on the disintermediation of the US higher ed "monopoly" will be when global HR adopts hr-xml competencies and job standards which will allow for true evaluations of skillsets instead of the four year degree strawman bar used now. As social networking builds out the value of frat and sor connections will decrease. Then the media networks will have to find another mechanism to allow young folks to compete unpaid in athletics in order to drive their HD video ad revenues. Though if you need an atom smasher the campus will have still have the advantage -- until fedgov redirects funds directly to private firms.</ed.note>

Recently College Board presented to congress a report which concluded that college is "high yield" financial investment for all attendees. My preliminary analysis raised several questions about the methodology used to arrive at that conclusion. I subsequently exchanged emails with the primary author and after a few inquiries they provided the actual worksheet and formula used in that report. Although it's puzzling why the data backing their conclusion is not published for all to read on their web site if it's so convincingly advocates college attendance.

eHealth, Ubiquity Linkpourri

Health Identity Management SIG [Liberty Alliance], openehealth, openhealthtools, Road to 100G Alliance, The Economic Impact of Stimulating Broadband Nationally [Tennessee], Broadband Services: Economic and Environmental Benefits, States get help expanding telemedicine, Tata and Telsima WiMax India

World's next outsourcing hub: Kenya?

The Kenyan government is pumping millions of dollars into improving the nation's outdated telecom industry.

<ed.note>I reiterate my harrangue for the Kenya Call Center Industry -- driving in to a call center to access the wiki and VOIP is missing the point. Rural telehealth and disease management will never reach its full potential if you can't develop a management structure which can trust remote workers -- or develop enough tech monitoring tools savvy to fake it. Just because the US keeps talking "green" but refuses to adopt ROWE doesn't mean the rest of the world has to repeat the mistake.</ed.note>

Faster, Cheaper Broadband Internet Coming to Michigan Health Care Providers

<ed.note>Story here. Project site here. But will auto manufacturers and Michigan management culture still require health care workers to "drive in" to access the Infogrid as the general practice? ( vs ROWE a la  culturerx.com )</ed.note>

Intel's Craig Barrett on Bridging Africa's digital divide

<ed.note>The fact that many are discovering that to get "teaching" to a student in a "far off place" doesn't require getting the "teacher" there -- has been "missed" by public schools in the U.S.

Educational policy needs to be focused on reallocating good teachers rather than attempting to pay for one good teacher per each hectare ( read: virtual classroom instruction ). As Barrett points out as in "Africa it is not a choice between clean water and broadband. You can do more than one thing at a time". The same is true of the US. One Laptop Per Child, for instance, does no good if the kids aren't allowed to begin learning until a teacher is standing in the same room with them. Curriki, DSpace, etc. are of no value if they have to be moderated by some official gatekeeper.

The REAL question is how will the self-taught receive certification for their acquired knowledge ( and will potential employers' HR personnel recognize it ) when the global higher ed system measures achievement, in part, by butt time in an "official" school desk. And newspapers thought they were dealing with disintermediation...</ed.note>

This Day in Broadband

20,000 Indian Villages to Receive Broadband here. UK Post Office launches broadband services here. EU watchdogs aim for broadband equality here. Mapping American Broadband here.

What Australia Needs Is A Work Over IP Infrastructure, Politicos Say

here.

"Expanding Africa’s Broadband Capacity", Connect Africa Summit in Kigali, 29-30 October 2007

Where: Kigali, Rwanda

Why: The main goal of the Summit is to help bring connectivity to Africa and promote "Connect Africa", a new partnership that seeks to expand the information and communication technology infrastructure of the continent, especially Internet broadband.

Who: Some 500 participants are expected to attend the Connect Africa Summit. Participants include the patrons of the initiative, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and Ghana’s President John Kufuor, who is also the African Union Chairman. High-level participants include International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré; President of the African Development Bank Donald Kaberuka; and Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett, who is also the Chair of the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development. Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group, will make a contribution by video link. The Presidents of several African nations are expected to participate.

The event will bring together political leaders, including Ministers and Heads of State, CEOs and senior executives of global and African IT companies, leaders from civil society and heads of international and regional development banks. Industry leaders including Cisco, GSM Association, Ericsson, Huawei, British Telecom, Qualcomm, NTT DoCoMo, Neustar, Safaricom, Nokia-Siemens and Microsoft will attend and announce new initiatives to help bring connectivity to Africa.

The Summit sessions are designed for television to encourage interactive participation and key sessions will be moderated by Stephen Cole, a renowned TV anchor with Al Jazeera International. The event’s press conferences will be webcast live, and time slots for telephone interviews with prominent participants will be allocated for those journalists who cannot attend.

The event is organized by the International Telecommunication Union, the African Union, the World Bank Group and the Global Alliance for ICT and Development, in partnership with the African Development Bank, the African Telecommunication Union, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and the Global Digital Solidarity Fund.

For further information, click here or contact:

Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
ITU
Tel: +41 22 730 5046
Mobile: +41 79 249 4861
Fax: +41 22 730 5939
E-mail

Contact: in New York Enrica Murmura, Tel: +1 212 963-5913, E-mail murmura@un.org; in Washington, DC Henny Rahardja, Tel. +1 202 473 4857, E-mail HRahardja@worldbank.org; in Tunis, Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi, Tel: +216 71 10 26 27, E-mail e.ngwainmbi@afdb.org.

About ITU

Managing Virtual Distance - Driving Business Transformation through Distributed Work, November 14-16, 2007

The Disneyland Hotel • Anaheim, CA

THE One, THE Only Conference Focused on Strategies, Teams, Tools & Beyond in the Virtual Workplace
ANNOUNCING INAUGURAL CONFERENCE ON MANAGING VIRTUAL DISTANCE

• IDENTIFY, MANAGE & MEASURE virtual distance
• Break through language barriers & manage MULTI-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS
• Harness virtual KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
• Believe the unbelievable & witness the power of VIRTUAL WORLDS technology
• Transform business norms & cause cultural shifts in the way people work through SOCIAL NETWORKING
• Implement new millennium strategies that change the way we think about INNOVATION in a corporate context
• Manage, Train & Measure Productivity of the REMOTE EMPLOYEE
• Identify SECURITY CHALLENGES introduced by the transition into Web 2.0 and Web 3.0

To Register:
E-mail register@iirusa.com
Call 888.670.8200
Fax 941.365.2507 
Visit http://www.iirusa.com/virtual

The New World of Work
Daniel W. Rasmus
Director of Information Work Vision – MICROSOFT

Virtual Distance Under High-Stress
Honorable Jerry MacArthur Hultin
President – POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY & FORMER UNDER SECRETARY OF THE U.S. NAVY

Global Projects vs. Traditional Projects
Karan Sorensen
Chief Information Officer – JOHNSON & JOHNSON PHARMACEUTICAL R&D

Legal Issues & IP Protection
Michael S. Mensik
Partner – BAKER & MCKENZIE

Virtual Worlds Technology
Philip Rosedale
Founder & CEO – LINDEN LABS

Secrets of High-Performance Distributed Teams
Cynthia C. Froggatt
Author of “Work Naked: Eight Essential Principles for Peak Performance in the Virtual Workplace”

Leadership in the Digital Age
Charles H. House
Executive Director – STANFORD UNIVERSITY, MEDIA X LAB

A Perspective From Corporate Resources
Ann Bamesberger
Vice President of Open Work Services – SUN MICROSYSTEMS

More here.

KenRadio Is TrendRadio

<ed.note>I reiterate, if you don't get Ken's IQ Reports, you're missing out ( big time, man ).

Ken thinks about the data coming down the pipe; I concentrate on the data which can be uploaded. I anticipate a medical banking grid connecting High Deductible Health Plans, Healthcare Savings Accounts, real-time adjudication, integrated charity care eligibility, and Smartphone-based Electronic Medical Records and mobile payments with provider point of service pricing; eHealth interactive home healthcare servers extended with wireless sensors and other devices facilitating remote disease management; medical data expressed via cell phones, web tablets, IPTV set top boxes, ATMs, kiosks, and web portals, etc.

Additionally, there will be GRIDS aplenty for research and HOPEFULLY more Work Over IP ( if management ever learns the technology needed to trust the distributed workforce ).</ed.note>

FTTH vs Cable Broadband
Global telcos want to become Multiple Service Operators (MSOs), offering television programming like cable providers do and they really pose a competitive threat to the incumbent players with their new video services, according to iSuppli. A major reason why this can occur is the telcos’ widespread deployment of all-fiber or deep-fiber access technology, which will help proliferate high-speed broadband capable of supporting rich video services. Verizon in the United States, NTT in Japan and France Telecom in Europe are just some of the telcos deploying or planning to deploy fiber all the way to the home. Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) has the potential to provide subscribers with virtually infinite bandwidth, with which they can receive thousands of High-Definition Television (HDTV) programs. The deployment of FTTH will allow the telcos to continue to expand their broadband coverage, bringing it to levels that rival that of cable television service. By 2009, global telco broadband subscribers will rise to 373 million, nearly equal to the 406 million cable subscribers around the globe. The following year, global broadband telco subscribers will rise to 413 million, exceeding the number of cable subscribers for the first time.

In 2009, 71 million telco broadband subscribers will have very high-speed fiber connections that can support an equivalent and potentially superior video service to that provided by MSOs. Of course, not all telco high-speed subscribers will be in regions serviced by MSOs, mitigating the impact. Regional trends FTTH now is a competitive threat to MSOs in a few regions where the cost of deployment is not prohibitive. These regions include Japan, where fiber can be aerial fed from the central office, i.e. using telephone lines or in this case fiber lines strung from telephone poles. Other regions include Verizon’s territories in the United States, which are more than 60% aerial fed—and in Paris, where the existing sewer systems provide a low-cost conduit for running fiber to buildings. For most other regions, the cost of deployment is very high. FTTH deployments in these regions can be between 12 to 15 times the cost of deploying broadband over a telco’s copper plant. The cost factor will slow down the widespread, global deployment of FTTH—but will not stop it. Over the next 15 to 20 years, worldwide telcos will bring fiber all the way to homes. FTTH is not the only threat to cable. Deep fiber penetration, known as Fiber To The Curb (FTTC) and VDSL to the home, can compete head to head with cable. Not replacing the copper on the last kilometer to the home can save telcos 50% to 65% of the cost of provisioning broadband to subscribers. This is the approach used today by AT&T in the United States and several incumbent telephone companies in Europe and Asia. FTTC plus VDSL can match cable television networks in delivering TV service to the home and may offer significant advantages in up-stream applications such as peer-to-peer video.

Wired for Health Quality Act

here. <ed.note>Note: Sec. 403. Facilitating the Provision of Telehealth Services Across State Lines</ed.note>

World Bank Approves 164.5 Million for High-Speed Connectivity in Africa

elearning-africa.com [ See also the attachments for the GLOSAS Post for 05/26/07 ]

East and Southern Africa is the only region in the world that is not connected to the global broadband infrastructure. A crucial step in removing this obstacle occurred in Washington DC on March 29 2007 when the World Bank Board of Directors approved an International Development Association (IDA) financing package of 164.5 million (USD) for Kenya, Burundi and Madagascar. The financing package represents the first segment of the US$424 million Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (RCIP) for high-speed connectivity in East and Southern Africa.

Until now, the region has been held back by the prohibitive costs of international connectivity. At present, the region accounts for less than one percent of the world’s international bandwidth capacity and relies on satellite connectivity, with costs among the highest in the world. Because of this missing link, businesses are unable to compete in the global economy, university students suffer because they cannot access the Internet, and Government agencies cannot communicate effectively with each other and their citizens because they are not connected.

RCIP will bring affordable high-speed connectivity to as many as 25 countries in East and Southern Africa. The US$164.5 million first portion of funding consists of IDA credits amounting to US$114.4 million to Kenya, US$30 million to Madagascar, and an IDA grant in the amount of US$20.1 million to Burundi.

RCIP financing of terrestrial networks will be a catalyst to attract and maximize private sector investment in telecommunications infrastructure. By the end of the Program, it is expected that all capitals and major cities in East and Southern Africa will be linked to competitively priced high-bandwidth connectivity. This will equip Africa to trade on a level playing field, extend education beyond the classrooms, and accelerate good governance.

Michael Ramage is the Executive Director of Connected Tennessee

<ed.note>Though I probably would have gone with a TN-based web site designer to begin with ( this stuff can be oh, so, political! ) I'm glad he's finally here. Wonder if we'll follow Mexico's No Mas Cables approach? Or maybe deploy a Stratellite™ grid? Or a Nokia mesh?

Ramage will be working with the assistance of ConnectedNation, the leadership of which ( Brian Mefford ( bmefford@connectednation.com ), Mark McElroy ( mmcelroy@connectednation.com ), Andrew McNeill ( amcneill@connectednation.com ), Laura Taylor ( ltaylor@connectednation.com ) ) are also the current leadership of ConnectKY.</ed.note>

Michael Ramage ( mramage@connectedtn.org , 615-828-5113 ) is the Executive Director of Connected Tennessee, a division of Connected Nation, Inc. Mr. Ramage is responsible for leading the successful implementation of the State of Tennessee’s Trail to Innovation, a comprehensive broadband deployment and adoption plan slated to leverage state, federal and private investment aimed at blanketing Tennessee with high-speed Internet access, as well as improving the use of technology and the Internet.

Mr. Ramage previously served as a Project Manager for ConnectKentucky, Connected Nation’s Kentucky initiative. In this role, he was responsible for facilitating comprehensive GIS-based Inventory Assessment of existing broadband infrastructure and service availability, the community-by-community implementation planning process and ensuring that every county in Kentucky’s western region has an online presence and the ability to improve the quality of life at the local level. Through this effort, communities were empowered to use technology applications and build partnerships that provided real-time budget savings and process efficiencies over the Internet, ensuring their ability to compete within the local and global marketplace.

Prior to joining ConnectKentucky, Mr. Ramage served Murray State University as Special Projects Leader, Lecturer and Network Manager within the Department of Industrial and Engineering Technology and the Center for Telecommunications Systems Management. While at Murray State, he was the recipient of grants from the National Science Foundation, Cisco Systems Inc., the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Other accomplishments include the development of GIS mapping for Calloway County, which was the precursor to the mapping performed by Connected Nation, and the development of the International Telecommunications Education and Research Association. Additionally, Mr. Ramage led the West Kentucky Telehealth Initiative and conducted research on various telecommunications topics. Prior to joining Murray State University, he worked as a Network Specialist for BellSouth Telecommunications in Nashville following his employment as a Computer Technician at Camco Technologies in Paducah, Kentucky.

Mr. Ramage has an Information Assurance Graduate Education Certificate from Purdue University’s Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security. Additionally, he has a Masters of Science in Telecommunications Systems Management and a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science, both from Murray State University. Among the industry certifications that Mr. Ramage has held include Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Cisco Certified Network Associate. Mr. Ramage was also bestowed the honorary title of a Kentucky Colonel for his work with technology in Kentucky. He is married to his beautiful wife, Brittany, and is the proud father of a baby girl, Shelby.

WiPeer

WiPeer was born as a research project at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, to provide peer-to-peer Wi-Fi and home/office networking based collaborative applications such as multiplayer interactive games, chat, search, file sharing, and eventually also collaborative productivity tools. This is through direct communication between the devices and without going through any third party infrastructure or gateway, and without relying on a central server.

WiPeer helps to establish ad-hoc communities/social networks and find people from your network when they are nearby.

The WiPeer community is growing fast. WiPeer offers a simple collaboration with a nearby people. So, join our community and start collaborating with no strings attached.

The Team

• Roy Friedman - Professor in CS Department at the Technion.
• Vadim Drabkin - Ph.D. student in CS Department at the Technion.
• Gabriel Kliot - Ph.D. student in CS Department at the Technion.
• Alon Kama - Ph.D. student in CS Department at the Technion.

International Conference and Exhibition on NEXT GENERATION MOBILE APPLICATIONS, SERVICES and TECHNOLOGIES (NGMAST 2007)

12-14 September, 2007, Cardiff, Wales, UK

The inaugural NGMAST07 Conference will focus on all novel aspects of technology, application and service development within the Mobile and Wireless Communications community. It aims to bring together a wide spectrum of international experts from the fields of research, business and policy, to facilitate a creative forum for the promotion of collaboration and knowledge transfer. In particular it will facilitate a dialogue between Government, SMEs, major industry players and academia to help create pathways for the development of common goals in a convergent network environment. More here.

Nashville, Are you Connected?

Jay Deragon writes:

I am pleased to announce the official launched of a new group on Linkedin titled "Nashville, Are You Connected?"

This group was established to engage the diverse representation of individuals on Linkedin either currently living in middle TN or having a past affiliation with the area. Middle Tennessee was rated by Fortune Magazine as one of the top ten places within the U.S. to live and work due to its economic growth, low unemployment, low cost of living. quality of life, education and the diverse industries headquartered in the area.

Please join me and encourage others on Linkedin whom have interest in middle Tennessee to join this new group and participate in the power that Linkedin offers all of us. To join please follow the link.

Fiber to the Farm

Feb 5, 2007, "Funding fiber to the farm", By Joan Engebretson, telephonyonline.com

Like finding well-situated season tickets to your favorite sports team, it can be daunting to get a telecom grant or loan from the Rural Utilities Service. But once the task is accomplished, the payback can be enormous.

Start-up communications service provider Air Advantage, for example, was able to use RUS grants and low-interest loans to expand its high-speed wireless network to serve a sparsely populated area of Michigan that had no high-speed connectivity.

“Our cost of expansion prior to the RUS loan was very expensive,” said Scott Zimmer, president of Air Advantage. “I'm not sure we would be in business today if we had continued on that track. In fact, I'm quite sure we wouldn't be.”

Ken's IQ Report on Top Broadband Countries

The number of broadband subscribers worldwide at 281.3 million as at end 2006, this represents growth of 31% for the year, according to a report from Point Topic. The top ten list of broadband countries shows little change although China continues to close the gap on the US, down to 5.4 million from 8.6 million a year ago, after adding more than 14 million lines in 2006. ( More here - free reg required )

Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) On A Roll

04.02.07 | Doug Mohney, VON Magazine enewsletter

Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connections are continuing to "accelerate," according to a new study sponsored by the FTTH Council and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).

Released yesterday, about 1.34 million homes are now connected to the Internet via end-to-end fiber with FTTH now "passing" 7.9 million homes. At this time last year, only 671,000 connections were made and only 4.1 million homes.

Further, the study shows that FTTH is being installed by a wide range of providers, not just large phone companies. According for more than 430,000 FTTH subscribers are small rural telephone companies, medium-sized telephone service providers and cable companies, private facilities-based competitive local exchange carriers and public entities such as municipalities and public utilities. The author of the study say there are over 340 companies serving customers with fiber, with small rural customers leading the way in terms of penetration of their customer base at about 3 percent.

Rates of FTTH growth in the United States are expected to grow as video services, gaming, and data applications take off. The FTTH Council recently called upon the U.S. government to adopt a universal access 100 Mbps broadband strategy.

<ed.note>Something along the lines of the CommunityHarbor approach.</ed.note>

Our People Are Our Greatest Asset - If Only We Could Trust Them

Updates: Senators Push for More Telecommuting, Telework Exchange Study Reveals Majority of Federal Telework Coordinators Spend 25 Percent or Less of Their Time on Telework, World Needs 4 Million Healthcare Workers, American Telemedicine Association in Nashville, May 13-15, 2007

PR via http://www.govtech.net/

"Forty-four percent of federal employee respondents to the survey, conducted by CDW Government Inc., indicate that they have the option to telework -- up 6 percent from 2006 -- while just 15 percent of private-sector employee respondents have that option. During the past year, telework growth in the federal government also outpaced the private sector: 35 percent of federal teleworkers started teleworking, compared to 10 percent of private-sector teleworkers."

Please see also "New Technology, Old Habits", by Moon Ihlwan and Kenji Hall, BusinessWeek - "Despite world-class IT networks, Japanese and Korean workers are still chained to their desks"

<ed.note>In addition to greater telework ( isn't it time to adopt "Work Over IP" or some such - does anyone really still use dial up? ) adoption, one of the areas I've anticipated from the "hr-xml-ish" world has been the idea of objective competency measurement, especially of the type that could be integrated into professional services human resource management tools. Tom Schmidt of Resumefit suggested that by completing the Workplace Big Five ProFile ( assessment at no cost, and review the results ) that this process can accurately measure 54 competencies. They also provide a digital signature to benefit HR which guarantees that the resume hasn't been tinkered with afterward.</ed.note>

GÉANT2

GÉANT2 is the seventh generation of pan-European research and education network, successor to the pan-European multi-gigabit research network GÉANT. The project within which the network is funded began officially on 1 September 2004, and will run for four years. This site provides information on the network, and on the other project activities which will be carried out alongside it. GÉANT2 is co-funded by the European Commission and Europe's national research and education networks, and is managed by DANTE.

The ALICE Project

The ALICE (America Latina Interconectada Con Europa) project was set up in 2003 to develop an IP research network infrastructure within the Latin American region and towards Europe. It addresses the infrastructure objectives of the European Commission’s @LIS programme, which aims to promote the Information Society and fight the digital divide throughout Latin America.

Owing to its success, the ALICE project has been extended until March 2007 from its original end date of May 2006.

Getting Ready for 4G

Bob Sellinger, Telecom Arcitect, Sun Microsystems, Inc. on "What Lies Ahead in the Next Network Evolution"

Mobile eHealth [ Updated: was Hands Free To Care With Wireless Phone ]

Story 1: 16th November 2006 Wireless Healthcare

Doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers in hospitals can now instantly communicate with one another thanks to a partnership between Vocera Communications, a wireless communications solutions company, and Xwave, a division of Bell Aliant, one of Canada’s largest information and communications technology (ICT) providers.

Using basic voice commands conveyed through a hands-free communication badge, the Vocera Communication System instantly connects people with one another, allowing them to quickly access patient information, make decisions, and act on them in a timely manner—anytime and anywhere in any wireless-networked building or campus. The badge weighs less than two ounces and can be clipped to a shirt pocket or collar, or worn on a lanyard, enabling instant communication via a combination of wireless local area network (LAN), voice-over-IP (VoIP) and speech-recognition technology.

Story 2: "Use of Mobile and Wireless Technology Jumps in Hospitals" By Neil Versel, contributing editor, Digital HealthCare & Productivity

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Even though adoption of electronic health records (EHR) and other clinical IT remains fairly anemic, at least one aspect of health-IT has taken giant steps forward in the last few years: the use of mobile and wireless technology where choices are proliferating.

Sprint network to use Intel's WiMax

By John Markoff and Ken Belson, The New York Times

Intel has also made progress in South Korea, which is using a version of WiMax called WiBro, and in developing countries like Brazil and Pakistan.

...More broadly, Intel has long wanted to create a global wireless network that mirrors today's land-based Internet, in which dozens of competitors build equipment designed to support a single open standard.

Sprint says it expects to reach a third of the U.S. population with its new network by the end of 2008.

Sprint's WiMax gambit could put pressure on Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless, and on equipment makers, to move toward more open standards and what the industry refers to as "network neutrality," a network design in which all types of data traffic are treated equally by the network operators.

UN to get serious about promoting Ubiquity

here .

Caltrain Succeeds With High-Speed Internet Connectivity

Caltrain, in conjunction with Intel® Solution Services and Nomad Digital Ltd., is the first rail line in the country to successfully complete a “proof of concept” for wireless broadband access technology that provides continuous high-speed Internet access along a rail line at travel speeds of up to 79 miles per hour. Other rail lines have provided wireless Internet access based on slower communication technologies.

For some time, Caltrain has been seeking technology solutions for providing high-speed wireless access that would give Caltrain passengers uninterrupted Internet links onboard moving trains.

The proof of concept, which was conducted along 16 miles of track between the Millbrae and Palo Alto stations, was deemed a success when multiple people surfed the Internet simultaneously, watched streaming video, answered e-mail and completed a large file download all while maintaining continuous connectivity at broadband speed.

“Caltrain reinvented itself when it introduced faster train service,” said Caltrain Board Chair Ken Yeager. “With this cutting edge technology, Caltrain is poised for future success.”

A seamless broadband wireless network based on WiMAX technology would be a significant customer enhancement because it would allow Caltrain customers to work from their laptops and turn their commute time into productive office time. Caltrain runs from San Francisco through the heart of Silicon Valley, and its customers are very tech savvy, commuting to well-known high-tech and bio-tech companies, as well as world-class universities.

“Intel Solution Services is very pleased to be working collaboratively to facilitate end-to-end WiMAX access in conjunction with Caltrain,” said Vice President, Software & Solutions Group and Worldwide General Manager of Intel Solutions Services Rick Echevarria. “Our commitment to accelerating the adoption of innovative technology to deliver real value to end users is exemplified in this project.”

Intel Solution Services, which is Intel Corporation's worldwide consulting organization, focuses on driving business transformation and competitive advantage through the practical application of new technologies, giving municipalities and organizations the confidence to innovate. Intel Solution Services has architected a number of successful wireless initiatives around the world to help organizations and municipalities reach new customers, provide better services, and cut costs.

In addition to Intel Solution Services, major technology providers for the proof of concept were United Kingdom-based train communications specialists Nomad Digital, Sensoria Corp. of San Diego and Redline Communications of Toronto.

Nomad provided its innovative mobile communication system which links the train to trackside wireless base stations, with radios located every few miles along the rail line. The company recently helped launch the world’s first broadband wireless service on trains in the UK on the London to Brighton line.

Sensoria, a pioneer in wireless broadband mesh communications, provided the wireless mesh routers which enables connectivity throughout the train and serves as the WiFi access point within each car.

Redline Communications provided the radios that makes the connection between the train and the trackside. The company is a supplier of WiMAX equipment.

With the proof of concept successfully completed, Caltrain will continue work on engineering that’s required before the wireless access can be implemented along the entire rail mainline.

###

Intel® Corporation contact: Mark W. Pettinger, 408.765.4970
Nomad Digital Ltd. contact: Nigel Wallbridge, 403.616.2687
Sensoria Corporation contact: Dave Gelvin, 858.673.4460 X12
Redline Communications contact: Carolyn Anderson, 905.479.8344 x333

07/31/06 - rph

Focused on Creating an Advanced and Interoperable Medical Network, HIMSS and Internet2 Announce Collaboration

The two organizations will leverage each other’s expertise to explore the viability of an independent and logically interconnected medical network in the United States

CHICAGO, Ill. and ANN ARBOR, Mich. - August 1, 2006 – The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and Internet2 announced today that the two organizations have created a partnership to explore the development of a secure, reliable and advanced networking solution for the transmission of medical information, messages and images throughout the broad healthcare industry.

The two organizations are exploring a new network designed to offer the health sciences and healthcare sectors a private and secure medium for exchanging health information. A next-generation architecture built to meet federal regulatory requirements, this new network may also have value to offer in the work of the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN).

This ground-breaking collaboration is a natural extension for both not-for-profit organizations. Through a membership of 20,000 individuals, 45 chapters, and more than 300 corporations representing millions of employees, the HIMSS mission focuses on the betterment of healthcare through the most effective use of information technology and management systems. Internet2, the U.S. ’s advanced networking consortium led by 208 U.S. university members in partnership with over 100 industry and government members, works to develop and deploy advanced networks, applications and resources.

“HIMSS and our members look forward to this collaboration with Internet2,” said H. Stephen Lieber, HIMSS president/CEO. “The synergies between HIMSS and Internet2 brought our organizations together to consider and evaluate the feasibility of establishing a network that would meet the evolving needs of the biomedical and healthcare delivery community.”

Since 1999, Internet2 has operated an advanced nationwide network that supports leading-edge Internet technology development for the research and academic community. Internet2 recently announced a major upgrade to this network to provide members 10 times the capacity and speed of its current infrastructure. In addition, the Internet2 community has successfully developed important middleware technologies to address critical issues in authentication and authorization in order to enable active privacy management. Through this partnership, HIMSS and the Internet2 community will work closely together to leverage these leading-edge technologies to explore development of brand new capabilities that meet the specific security and privacy needs of the healthcare industry.

“The research and education community has long understood the potential for leveraging advanced Internet technology to enhance the healthcare industry’s ability to serve the public’s needs, to improve the flow of information for research, to streamline care processes and to enable cost savings,” said Douglas Van Houweling, Internet2 president and CEO. “Our partnership with the HIMSS community is a major step forward in realizing this vision. Together we will work to create a new state-of-the-art platform for biomedical research, education and clinical practice on a national scale.”

Through the partnership, four working groups have been established to explore the requirements and capabilities needed to create an advanced medical network during the next year. HIMSS and Internet2 will join each other’s organizations. Members of both organizations will also join each of the four working groups, which include:

Identity Management that will allow the identification and authentication of individuals regardless of their physical location.

Privacy & Security that will focus on the tools and techniques that will assure the privacy and security of the information that travels on the network.

Biomedical (Health Sciences and Healthcare) Education that will focus on meeting the unique needs and accessing the resources required for biomedical education.

Telehealth that will focus on the implications for clinical practice when a reliable advanced network is available.

In addition, members of both organizations will work for the development and implementation of the network with other partnerships and collaborations, including Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE).

The missing last mile {Rural communities that lack broadband connectivity have an extra handicap when it comes to implementing health IT}

April 17, Nancy Ferris, govhealthit.com

When it comes to using health information technology, rural communities face many difficulties, including common ones such as figuring out how to pay for the systems and how to set up patient information exchanges.

But some rural areas have another tough problem. They can’t get affordable high-speed communications services.

When limited to dial-up connections, doctors, hospital workers and clinicians must spend minutes to accomplish transactions that high-speed Internet users can do in seconds, such as downloading a PDF or sending a photograph. Although medical records are not necessarily enormous files, most cannot easily transmit at slow data speeds. Sending radiological images and other graphic files is out of the question.

A 2005 Institute of Medicine report notes the lack of broadband in rural areas. “This aspect of the digital divide is one of the greatest challenges for rural telehealth, as well as other rural commerce,” the report states.

With slow Internet connections, simple tasks can be hard to execute. Gail Bellamy, director of community studies at the West Virginia Institute for Health Policy Research in Charleston, W.Va., cited the example of a federally funded project in which West Virginia hospitals report medical errors.

The hospitals receive reports that show their error rates compared with those from other hospitals. When the project started, one hospital could not use the Web-based reporting screen because of its slow dial-up connection, and no T1 line or DSL service was available in that area. Project leaders appealed to Verizon, the local phone company, and persuaded the company to install a high-speed line, Bellamy said.

“Broadband is a huge issue,” she said, although it’s not a problem in every rural area. “Different parts of rural America have differential access,” and the cost of high-speed service varies.

Bellamy led a National Rural Health Association team that drafted an issue paper on health IT. It states that “simple access to the Internet is not sufficient for secure health care transactions” because of the need for security at every point along the transmission path. And a single high-speed line is not enough because redundancy is necessary to avert an unacceptable communications breakdown.

“In addition, the technology infrastructure needs to support telehealth applications, as these are critical to rural health systems,” the association’s paper states. “For example, the infrastructure must be able to accommodate regional Picture Archiving and Communications Systems [used in radiology], streaming videos and telehealth educational programs that can be broadcast from anywhere in the country.”

More

Ken Rutkowski on Global Broadband penetration leaders

<ed.note>If you don't get the daily Kenradio.com newsletter... well, bless your heart! In addition, Ken has an IQ listserv which you should investigate if you are into media, entertainment and technology news.</ed.note>

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development published worldwide broadband rankings. In Iceland, 26.7% of citizens have broadband connection, compared with 25.4% in South Korea, 25.3% in the Netherlands and 25% in Denmark. The number of broadband subscriptions throughout the OECD countries grew to 158 mln by December 2005 from 136 mln in June 2005. This is an average of 13.6 subscribers per 100 inhabitants in the entire OECD. The United States, with 16.8% broadband penetration, counted 49.39 mln subscribers in 2005, compared with 22.52 mln in Japan which has 17.6% penetration.

* In December 2005, four countries (Iceland, Korea, the Netherlands and Denmark) led the OECD in broadband penetration, each with more than 25 subscribers per 100 inhabitants.

* Iceland now leads the OECD with a broadband penetration rate of 26.7 subscribers per 100 inhabitants.

* Korea's broadband market is advancing to the next stage of development where existing subscribers switch platforms for increased bandwidth. In Korea, fiber-based broadband connections grew 52.4% during 2005. This switchover effect is evident by the net loss of DSL (-3.3%) and cable (-1.7%) subscribers during the year.

* The strongest per-capita subscriber growth came from Iceland, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands and Australia. Each country added more than 6 subscribers per 100 inhabitants during 2005.

* Japan leads the OECD in fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) with 4.6 million fiber subscribers at the end of 2005. Fiber subscribers alone in Japan outnumber total broadband subscribers in 21 of the 30 OECD countries.

* DSL is still the leading platform in 28 OECD countries. Cable subscribers outnumber DSL in Canada and the United States.

* The United States has the largest total number of broadband subscribers in the OECD at 49 million. US broadband subscribers represent 31% of all broadband connections in the OECD.

* Canada leads the G7 group of industrialized countries in broadband penetration

* The breakdown of broadband technologies in December 2005 is as follows:
            DSL: 62%
            Cable modem: 31%
            Other technologies (e.g. satellite, fiber and fixed wireless) : 7%

Bredesen creates e-health advisory board

April 3, 2006 Nashville Business Journal

Gov. Phil Bredesen has signed an executive order establishing an e-health advisory council to coordinate Tennessee's various initiatives leading toward the adoption of an electronic medical record.

The Governor's eHealth Advisory Council will encompass 16 members from various stakeholding interests, including employers, regional health information organizations, payers and consumer groups. Chairing the body will be Antoine Agassi, a former chief technology officer at Spheris and chief information officer for WebMD.

<ed.note>I'll keep checking my voicemail; nuthin' so far!</ed.note>

The council will advise state government on promoting the successful adoption of EMR's. Electronic medical records are viewed as a way to improve care by collecting a patient's updated health data and eliminate waste by cutting out the need for repeated tests. President Bush has made a goal of nationwide EMR adoption during the next decade.

Making Telework a Federal Priority: Security is Not the Issue [Updated with the healthcare angle]

<ed.note>Petroleum prices and healthcare costs -- Jon Gordon of American Public Radio included this post in the FutureTense newsletter yesterday. Every US employer and state health program is being hammered by healthcare (read: obesity-related diabetes) but they are not going to spring for a treadmill in each cube -- plus which, it would be noisy if they did. But if they add the telework (telewalk) home office to the equation -- well, that's different. My "Cyberbike 3000" is a self-modified reclining excerbike with a tray mounted where the plastic console used to be. This allows me to ride while using my notebook. I pedal while reading and take a break while typing. I hope to do voice rec at some point. I haven't yet figured out how to connect the generator and battery to generate the electricity for the notebook.</ed.note>

Fighting fat by walking while working

Listen in RealAudio

As technology advances, we become more sedentary. At home, we spend more time in front of our computers and televisions. In the office, we type e-mails instead of walking down the hall to talk with colleagues.

Thomas Niccum, president of Twin Cities-based Lancet Software, has decided to fight the motionless lifestyle of a modern white collar worker by rigging his office so he can do most of his work while walking on a treadmill.

Niccum's treadmill-equipped office was inspired by the work of the Mayo Clinic's Dr. James Levine, whose research finds that the more people move around during the course of a normal day, the thinner they'll be. He calls it "NEAT" (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis).

Levine says we need to incorporate more motion into every part of our day.

Future of Utah’s ‘Industrial Bank’: Is There One?

March/April 2006, Joh Casillas, The MEDICAL BANKING  REPORT Vol. 3, No.2

The issue has catapulted from obscure loophole to national outcry. “This is an abuse of powers – and a direct violation of the separation of banking and commerce – Wal-Mart in the banking business? How about “Morgan/Chase” Supermarket and Discount Stores?” says one of over 1,700 letters received by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) referring to the “Industrial Bank” classification in Utah. State-charted and state-regulated industrial banks may be owned by commercial companies because federal laws do not classify them as banks.

Many in healthcare are following the issue ever so closely. Healthcare? Wal-Mart? Why is this important to medical banking constituencies?

Well for one thing, a string of health plans are lining up to apply for the esoteric classification. UnitedHealthcare, far ahead of the curve, charted a new Exante Bank in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2002. According to their website, the “goal of Exante Bank is to enhance the health and wellbeing industry by integrating the proven platforms of the financial services sector - bringing innovation, reliability, and security to benefits delivery, health care administration and transactional processes. Exante Bank is a state-chartered financial institution and its accounts are FDIC-insured up to $100,000.”

It took most of the healthcare industry years to understand the underpinnings of this move by one of the nation’s top insurers. Today this is no longer the case.

Last December MBR was invited to a press conference by Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) organized to announce the formation of ‘Blue Healthcare Bank’. BCBSA told MBR that it is using the special ‘industrial bank’ classification in Utah. “We want to create a seamless and convenient consumer experience,” said Scott Serota, President and CEO of BCBSA, a national federation of 40 independent, locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. Shortly after the announcement more news about other health insurers seeking a charter in Utah emerged.

Enter the Wal-Mart debacle. More

Cable, telecom, Internet skirmishers march on Nashville venues

March 29, 2006 By Milt Capps, NashvillePost.com (subscription)

Legislative Plaza was today the scene of a ritual that provided fresh illustration of the point made by Alexis DeTocqueville in Democracy in America, the journal that forever marked Americans as prone to political alliances. Said the author in 1835, while Americans routinely mobilize interest-groups that "agitate society," in the end the messiness strengthens the state.

Given the agitation now underway in Nashville, one can only hope that De Tocqueville's words went straight from his lips, to God's ears. Case-in-point: Today was the annual "Cable Day" at the Capitol and Legislative Plaza for members of the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association, under the leadership of President and Executive Director Stacey Burks Briggs.

Briggs and nearly 60 TCTA members, saying they represent 1.3 million cable subscribers, were vying for legislators' attention on a half-dozen broadband-related bills...

Business Managers are leading the adoption of ‘Services’ with IT departments lagging behind

March 1st, 2006 Andy Mulholland, CTO, Capgemini, Monthly Technology Brief
Phone +44 (0)207 434 2171 andy.mulholland@capgemini.com

So what is driving the business managers? It’s a combination of two activities; the first is the overwhelming growth in the use of e mail as a business collaborative tool to orchestrate ad hoc process to answer the diversity of operational issues that the fast changing business market place introduces. The second is the growth in vertical industry trade associations agreeing XML based data sets for their members to interchange operational data between their enterprises. Nether of these is connected to either the ERP or Application models that IT departments are mandated and funded to manage on behalf of the business. It’s something new and different as a business requirement, even a business activity. The Internet and Architecture are common to both; in the case of e mail the Internet supports the universal connectivity whilst ‘service’ architecture the mechanism for any e mail client to send and receive with any other client regardless of product provider. XML interchanges work in a similar way around data and its comprehension to the two machines interacting.

TN Broadband Stimulus Program

Kevin Bittorie, Director of Programs & Communications, Nashville Technology Council Program Announcements

Broadband access is increasingly becoming a key question businesses are asking when looking at relocating to Middle Tennessee.  The Tennessee Department of Economic Development has developed a brief survey to support the Tennessee Broadband Stimulus Program.

There is a Residential Survey to be completed by everyone and a separate Business Survey to be completed by the appropriate executives.  The link to the business survey is also included on the last page of the residential survey.

Eric Cromwell and his staff are trying to reach as many people across the state as possible with this survey - the more feedback we receive the more beneficial and effective our efforts will be - so we thank you for and value your input.  Please make sure to distribute this message to the appropriate people in your communities.

e-Thiopia [Ministry Says Investing in ICT Vital to Efficient Health Care Delivery]

March 10, 2006 by Mengesha Amare, The Ethiopian Herald (Addis Ababa)

The Ministry of Health (MoH) said that the role of coordinated Information Communications Technology (ICT) in health activities and knowledge dissemination using Ethiopian Broadband and Multimedia Technology is invaluable.

Speaking at a National workshop "ICT for Health Care" opened at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) conference hall yesterday, Health Minister Dr. Tewodros Adhanom said that the attention to invest in ICT for efficient health care delivery system by improving health management, facilitating referral system, reducing cost and enhancing curative and preventive medical care would play a significant role in benefiting the public.

He further said that the workshop would enable to examine challenges and strengths of previous telemedicine practices in Ethiopia and avail opportunities to discuss and further develop distinct ICT health project ideas and also create a platform for establishing partnership with various stakeholders as well as national and international experts.

Ethiopian Information and Communication Technology Development Agency (EICTDA) Director General Debre-Tshion Gebre-Michael on his part said that ICT is known to provide an opportunity to speed up economic development and promote good governance by facilitating interaction between the government and citizens thereby creating conditions for fostering transparency, ensuring accountability and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector.

The new Nashville Convention Center, Techubator and Tenngrid [ An Open Letter to Mayor Bill Purcell's Music City Center committee - updated ]

The convention center should house a tech incubator which all the area colleges and the state schools as well as area businesses collaborate in. It ought to emphasis distributed grid computing so that rural teleworkers could be employed from home offices over VPNs. And, of course, the state needs to cooperate by lighting fiber (or what have you) to every state locality.

According to a recent press release the new Georgia Center for the Study of Systems Biology hosted by BellSouth's world-class facilities in Midtown Atlanta and funded by $8.5 million in grants from the State of Georgia, the Georgia Research Alliance and the National Institutes of Health, merges Dr. Skolnick's biomedical research expertise with IBM's high-performance computing capabilities to create a brand new supercomputer. The new supercomputing cluster running Linux will be among the fastest in the world, and one of the most powerful among research universities in the Southeastern United States.

These kinds of public-private partnerships projects are the things all the economists say America (and the states individually) need to be preeminent in the new economy. We have Dell and we’ll host the Redhat Summit this spring. We have Ken Russell’s nascent Communityharbor initiative. We have BellSouth, Comcast, even some line of sight wireless. The Technology Council has already invited Paul T. Morris Esq., Executive Director, Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA) to the 2nd Annual Nashville, Tennessee NTC Technology Innovation Conference on March 15th. “Recognizing the importance of advanced telecommunications for each community, citizens of fourteen 14 Utah cities engaged in deploying and operating a 100 percent fiber optic network to every business and household within the consortium's footprint.”

This kind of endeavor produces rural telemedicine and disabilities employment advantages: In a report prepared for the New Millennium Research Council (NMRC), Robert E. Litan*, vice president for research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation and also is a senior fellow in the economic studies program at the Brookings Institution, identifies up to $927 billion in cost savings and output benefits from ‘business as usual’ broadband deployment and an additional $532 billion-$847 billion in economic benefits from accelerated broadband deployment.

Litan notes: “Three types of benefits from broadband deployment and use are addressed: lower medical costs; lower costs of institutionalized living; and additional output generated by more seniors and individuals with disabilities in the labor force. Considered together, these three benefits are estimated to accumulate to at least $927 billion in 2005 dollars … This amount is equivalent to half of what the United States currently spends annually for medical care for all its citizens ($1.8 trillion) … Policies designed to accelerate the use of broadband for these populations, however, could significantly add to the benefits, by cumulative amounts ranging from $532 billion to $847 billion (depending on the wages earned by the additional working seniors).”

In the US nearly 70 % of individuals with disabilities are unemployed and in Tennessee, under current state services, unless they have mental retardation, there are essentially no support services offered to this population. If a Techubator were to encourage management to think outside of the cube and utilize people with disabilities as remote employees using assistive technology-enhanced home offices, broadband and vpns, Cybera and the Technology Access Center and other NPOs could assist in managing projects such as distributed medical digitization and indexing or government historical document digitization projects. The number 1 reason given by persons with disabilities is the lack of accessible transportation to the workplace, especially in rural areas. Working from home offices with assistive technologies "virtually" eliminates this barrier. The number 2 reason is the cost of including the population in healthcare insurance pools. But by adopting telemedicine and remote disease management techniques these cost could be brought low as possible. Plus a supercomputing cluster could be aimed at coming up with treatments for those very conditions.  Not only would this bring business folks to Nashville on a one time basis but encourage firms globally to make Nashville part of their homesourcing/outsourcing toolkits.

Then there’s the “folding@home” potential of the Tenngrid’s unused cycles for the biotech park. And NHIN and medical banking tie ins. Possibly more Internet 2 tie ins. And distance education enablement for rural schools. It would also provide a platform for a realistic alternative to the meth lab economy.

Creative Clusters and the Urban Economy

Tak Utsumi provides a link to John Eger's latest as well as to his previous (Teletopia, Yet Another New World Communications Order, and Globalization: A New Urgency for Building Digital Communities)

Using Your Cellphone as a Credit Card

February 8, 2006 By SARA SILVER, Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Taking a service that is growing in Asia, Motorola Inc. is planning to launch a system that will allow people to purchase products simply by waving a cellphone with an embedded chip over scanners at the cash register.

<ed.note>The sweet spot will be being able to access your EMR, and M-Wallet pay your doctor from your HSA and have remittances settled in real-time. Accessing charity care eligibility is possible as well since cells are the most ubiquitous globally interactive data access device -- even the medically uninsured will have them. To learn about the open source cooperative reference architecture building toward that see http://www.mbproject.org/combat-homepage.php . Better yet, visiting the Feb 22-23 Medical Banking Institute would not be a counterintuitive decision http://www.mbproject.org . I find it interesting as well that there are Motorola phones which use iTunes and iPods which can host videos and Osirix. How long before I can go to iTunes to download my EMR and related scans? I just hope they'll be interoperable with the Intel and SCOPE boxes...</ed.note>

Home Healthcare Servers, baby!

"Digitally Speaking: Q&A With Louis Burns, Intel" by Edward F. Moltzen, Digital Connect 

GM of Intel's digital health group sheds light on health-care tech market

Louis Burns, General Manager of the Intel Digital Health Platforms Group, has been spearheading the company's efforts in developing technology, forging partnerships and working toward an ecosystem that can support and grow a digital health market.

Digital Connect's Edward F. Moltzen recently interviewed Burns:

DC: When you talk about new standards, and devices and products for a digital health infrastructure that reaches the home, how will it work? What home prototypes will we see in the coming months?

Burns: We're sitting with nurses and doctors trying to figure out what are the right combinations of technology: RFID, bar-code technology, form factors. They are an active part of that development, and they think that's really cool.

What Should the Government Role be in Ensuring an Open Internet (more questions than answers)?

Jan. 12, 2006 Jeff Pulver Blog

For the past few years, many of us have been prophesizing the emerging battle between Internet Application Providers and Internet Access Providers. My blog posting on Monday - "My reaction to WSJ's "Phone Companies Set Off A Battle Over Internet Fees" - apparently hit a nerve, setting off a flurry of debate on my blog and throughout the blogosphere. Frankly, I was a little taken aback, because I don't think I was saying anything that I and others haven't already been saying for the past couple of years. In any event, I found a few new allies and seemed to have rankled some feathers. There is no longer any doubt in my mind that we are witnessing the emergence of the new battle for control over the Internet and communications.