The rationale for Green 4G is not to promote a specific technical approach or application except as examples that bolster the argument that 4G enables bridging of connections from individuals to and from content providers/creators. There are myriad of applications from utility monitoring, vending machine monitoring, public safety, VPNs, Internet connectivity, etc. As a whole, these become liberating as the bandwidth increases to be comparable to wire-line and as cost makes it practical to stay connected, including to rich media such as video conferencing.
The purpose is not to promote specific solutions but to promote broader acceptance as an alternative deserving of government subsidies, tax credits, and programs and for corporate education and adoption. And as an added argument for making more spectrum available on terms that makes it open and practical to be used broadly. This tends to argue for more unlicensed, semi-unlicensed spectrum as that can help speed granular viral adoption. If companies or groups wish to promote a particular solution, it would be prudent for them to provide white papers and examples of real world deployments, programs and initiatives. I think that this provides a great opportunity for WISPs and small service providers of licensed spectrum because they operate close to their communities and work effectively with local, regional and state governments and businesses. And these groups are in a good position to provide case examples of how WBB is being used.
Part of this vision is purposely to shift beyond thinking so intently on technology to thinking more about solutions. The argument is not so much about whether WiFi or WiMAX or 3G is used than how the solution is crafted and implemented to delivery results and showing that this includes reduction of dependence on travel and other lower impacts on energy resources. Just reducing the amount of office space required or reducing or improving gathering of information for delivery of social services can also help reduce impacts.
The goal is to get WBB/4G accepted for it's ability to be used as a critical gap-filling field of technology. From there is is up to companies to educate, pursue programs and fill the unique demands to deliver wireless deployments, content and services. Green4G is a focus group and banner, not more or less.
Guidelines can be established for doing measurements and comparisons. If subsidies or carbon tax offsets are being defined, then some measure of the benefits of proposed use of wireless must be shown. Because of the complexity, all benefits may not be easily captured, but many become obvious and measurable.
A primary reason for establishing an association is to gather political and social will: there is no effective lobbying group that advocates use of WBB as an alternative. This vacuum is opposed by very powerful advocacy groups that promote tax incentives for oil, coal, bio-fuels, highway construction, public transit and other efforts that get direct tax mandates and programs amounting to many billions in commerce and millions in payments to political campaigns. If the wireless industry wishes to be heard as an enabling alternative to exploiting and burning up every last molecule of carbon until we drown in carbon dioxide and other pollutants, and as we go about finding better ways to burn it up, (interesting but still a lemming-like jump off of the global climate cliff) then it must mount a concerted effort. The scope of the issue is much broader than WiFi or WiMAX or 4G, but it should start now and be forcefully advocated.
WBB is now becoming capable to enable reduction of dependency on suicidal, brain-dead juvenile ways of organizing business and government. Radical thinking is necessary. If we don't mount a determined, dedicated effort, we are ignoring social and personally rationale responsibility imo. I hope others get excited about this .. and that is asking people involved in technology, not the most political or excitable group, to get their heads around this to make it part of their priorities for development, marketing and advocacy. I have no illusions: 'it isn't easy being green'. |
