Mvccnet - January 2008 MVRN

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January 2008 MVRN

Written by Administrator

Thursday, 27 December 2007

We have sent out two requests for bid. One request for bid is for a 36, 72 or 144 strand fiber trunk between MVCC and Kettering at Whipp and Bigger. It is attached. The other request for bid is for either 1.5 Mbps or 10 Mbps telecom circuits between MVCC and the completed part of our regional fiber network. That bid request is also attached. We are seeking prices for each so that we can present the pricing versus capabilities to our council for their decision. Note that Time-Warner now understands that they are required by state law to provide video transport from our municipalities to MVCC and from MVCC to the T-W head-end in Dayton. They are also required to carry our four channels on their entertainment network. This could change in the future. In a nutshell here is how I see the decision process without specific costs included.

With a 36, 72 or 144 strand fiber trunk between MVCC and Kettering

We do not have to pay recurring monthly fees to telecommunications carriers for MVCC to reach the Internet
MVCC will be able to continue to carry streaming video for our four channels and archived videos without concern about bandwidth limitations
MVCC, DATV (Dayton Community Access TV), and GATV (Dayton Government Access TV) will be able to have a full video interconnection to each other to share files and potentially do simulcasts reaching a total population of over 250,000 people. (Thanks in part to DATV paying for a fiber trunk between the Dayton traffic signals system and their offices.)
The excess fiber on this trunk lays some of the groundwork for being able to move toward a public/private partnership managing a regional network as a catalyst for economic development, government offices, public educational institutions and non-profit agencies interconnection.
Installation of this fiber lays the groundwork for connection of Centerville City Hall and other Centerville government offices to the rest of the regional fiber network and to the Internet. (Requires a fiber trunk from MVCC to the intersection of SR 48 and Alex-Bell Road.)
If (when?) state law changes T-W will stop carrying our video signals to the head-end. At that time we will need to either install a fiber trunk or lease more expensive telecommunications channels, or stop transmitting our local channels.
MVCC is responsible for the operational reliability of the trunk (probably through a contract), and paying for repairs when there are outages.

With leased trunks between MVCC and the present regional fiber network

We do not have to invest in a fiber trunk between MVCC and Kettering
At 10 Mbps we will be able to continue to carry streaming video for our four channels and archived videos and be able to have Internet connectivity without concern for bandwidth for an indefinite number of years. (Depends on implementation of new applications, streaming video demand and changes in transmission content.)
If (when?) state law changes T-W will stop carrying our video signals to the head-end. At that time we will need to either install a fiber trunk or lease more expensive telecommunications channels, or stop transmitting our local channels.
We will not be able to have full video interconnection between DATV, DGTV and MVCC. (DATV and DGTV will be able to connect to each other.)
This is not a step toward building a regional network which can be a catalyst for economic development.
This does not lay the groundwork for future connection of Centerville to the present regional fiber network.

The video circuit between Centerville City and Centerville Schools has not been installed because of other workload and vacations in both organizations.

Carl Suchomel and I visited Terry Rappoch, the CEO of DaytaOhio, at WSU before Christmas. Visit their website at http://www.daytaohio.com/ to learn more about them. Terry has a leased gigabit bandwidth circuit between their location and the same building our D-MIX switch is in in downtown Dayton. We agreed to work with DaytaOhio and OSCnet to create a strong mutual interface between our systems at the D-MIX switch. Terry is one of the originators of the D-Mix concept and he was very pleased to see what we have done in using the traffic signals fibers to create a regional backbone network with the D-MIX as our gateway node. We talked about the routes our fiber follows in our region. During the discussion we noted that the fiber passes adjacent the National Conmposite Center in Kettering, the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA) offices in downtown Dayton, and most of the non-profit hospitals in Dayton. Terry mentioned that high bandwidth (possibly gigabit bandwidth) connectivity to each of those organizations would be compatible with some of the objectives of the DaytaOhio mission. Carl and I are also going to work with Terry on A) a video showcase of his very impressive operation which we will carry on our channels and encourage Dayton to carry on their channels and B) a short video endorsement by Terry of our regional network initiative.
In case there is still some confusion on this matter this is a good time to explain what is happening with the Institutional Nework currently provided by Time-Warner.

In re-reading the state law T-W determined that they are required to carry our PEG access video channels from our municipal council chambers to MVCC and from MVCC to T-W on Leo Street, and then to their transmission equipment at their headend. It is clear from my discussions with T-W that they did not want to do this but are doing so because it is required by state law. In my opinion watch for further developments over the next couple of years.
As of April 1, 2008 T-W will no longer permit use of the institutional network for anything other than described in the previous bullet. This means that all of our school districts will lose use of these fiber channels on April 1, 2008. The cities of Centerville, Kettering, Moraine and West Carrollton will lose use of their actively used intra-municipality fiber provided under the T-W Institutional Network agreement.
In summary, on April 1, 2008 we lose over 95% of the carrying capacity and capabilities of our regional network.
As it stands right now T-W will continue to provide the schools and municipal offices with their entertainment channels at no cost. Please do not confuse this with the Institutional Network. These are one-way entertainment channels just like those received on your TV at home.

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