3 thoughts

[Gary Davison]

1. In thinking about this project, the only thing that really worries
me is the issue of size. All our hard work could be for naught if some
suit at the Googleplex says: "Baltimore's out - they're too big."
So ...
a) Have we checked with Google to make sure that we're not going to
be disqualified sight unseen?
b) assuming we're able to get through that hoop, what mitigation
strategies do we have to mollify Google?

As I see it, if we can reframe the debate in terms, not of
total population/number of households,
but in terms of aggregate (or, even better, average) cost,
then we're in pretty good shape. To drive average
costs down, the two primary selling points we have are the
conduits and population density.The conduits
will greatly reduce the amount of digging required, but what
% of the total cost could this save?

The population density may or may not be a more powerful
argument. This blog entry from February
(http://gigaom.com/2010/02/11/google-fiber-network-cost/)
uses a cost model that, using 2000
Census data, projects that Baltimore's population is so
dense that it will actually incur a negative "cost"
of -$111 per household. Puzzling. Do we have any cost model/
estimate data for this project yet?
Should we create one?

2. In thinking about the proximity use case, two things came to mind
Sun evening:
a) When discussing proximity to DC, do we mention that Google
has offices in Washington and Reston?
Neither location is exactly local, but can any of our
competitors claim any Google facilities remotely near
their respective areas?
b) Have we addressed the issue of connectivity - how will this
pile of fiber optics communicate
with the outside world? Will creating fiber "last mile"
connections lead to bottlenecks at the city line?
No idea here. Should we try to address this? If so, how?

3. Cybersecurity - We've spent time talking about organizations that
rule in cybersecurity, but have we looked at the question that Google
may be considering - proximity to people? When Google pulls the
trigger on this thing, they're going to have to get people in to run/
manage it. A potential selling point for us it that we can claim to
be able to supply a large pool of labor already skilled in what they
want - sys admins, security experts, and the like. Can Sarasota or
Duluth make similar claims?

At any rate, apologies for the late hour, formatting, and duration of
the rant. Also, if some of these questions have already been
addressed. In either event, thanks for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Gary Davison
10 Vista View Court
Kingsville, MD 21087
H: 410-592-5931
C: 443-845-6783

[Tom Loveland (Mind Over Machines)]

Hi Gary,

1: Google won't look at our population, ~640000 as of 2008, and disqualify us as too big because it exceeds their 500,000 ceiling. When they pick us, they'll say, "We want to put in about x many drops here." And somehow we and/or they will figure out where to put them. Also, the RFI says they do expect to install trials at multiple locations. And they expect to install anywhere from 50,000 to 500,000 drops TOTAL. So expect only a small portion of Baltimore to get lit up during an initial rollout.

2a: Ann Arbor has a Google building. Other places of Google buildings and offices: Austin, Boulder, Cambridge, Chicago, Coppell TX, Detroit, Kirkland, Pittsburgh, Santa Monica, Seattle, http://retailindustry.about.com/od/topusretailcompanies/a/googleworld.htm

2b: Not sure how it'll connect with the outside world. Looking forward to learning what Google has in mind. I'm thinking they'd at least connect us into their own Googleverse. But I'll leave this question to more knowledgeable folks.

3: Good point. We do point out that our area enjoys the highest concentration of IT professionals anywhere in the country.

Sincerely,

To unsubscribe from this group, send email to bmorefiber+unsubscribegooglegroups.com or reply to this email with the words "REMOVE ME" as the subject.

[Gary Davison]

Thanks for the reassuring responses.

GCD
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

[Gary Davison]

My concerns about proximity being a benefit were based on a seriously
outdated understanding of Internet topology, which once placed a high
value on proximity to Reston, VA, NYC, Chicago, or the Bay Area.

If however, this somewhat dated column by Cringely (http://www.pbs.org/
cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20070119_001510.html) can be trusted,
interconnection may be the least of our concerns, much less Google's.

GCD

On Mar 29, 6:22 am, "Tom Loveland (Mind Over Machines)"

<TLovel...@mindovermachines.com> wrote:
> Hi Gary,
>
> 1: Google won't look at our population, ~640000 as of 2008, and disqualify us as too big because it exceeds their 500,000 ceiling. When they pick us, they'll say, "We want to put in about x many drops here." And somehow we and/or they will figure out where to put them.  Also, the RFI says they do expect to install trials at multiple locations.  And they expect to install anywhere from 50,000 to 500,000 drops TOTAL. So expect only a small portion of Baltimore to get lit up during an initial rollout.
>

> 2a: Ann Arbor has a Google building. Other places of Google buildings and offices: Austin, Boulder, Cambridge, Chicago, Coppell TX, Detroit, Kirkland, Pittsburgh, Santa Monica, Seattle,http://retailindustry.about.com/od/topusretailcompanies/a/googleworld...