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Technology Stocks : The *NEW* Frank Coluccio Technology Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cogito Ergo Sum who wrote (46209)	2/2/2018 2:21:24 AM
From: axial	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 46821

Swan, there's no dispute about what's happening in Africa. For years we've seen stories by the score, about how newfound connectivity has been an enabler. Micropayments. Agriculture and marketing. Online transactions of many kinds. And so on ... Yes, you can split off strands of fiber and provide wireless communication to whole new low-population areas, previously unreached. But that has capital and operating costs. There has to be a business case. "it is not the same old same old set up ... This will be empowering and can change politics rapidly... as I said salient." "Knowing the Chinese... this may NOT be an unintended consequence." — No business case? Some entity -- government, an appendage of China, or a mysterious sponsor -- will pay to build and operate, without profit? — '...change politics rapidly'. Possibly, but as you've proposed, in low-population remote areas. And not until the connectivity is built, running, and paid for. — And let's not forget internet censorship, à la Iran, China, Russia, and more. Your quote: "Because they are building fiber like crazy along the railways and power lines. With fiber in place, the rest is easy. Power lines do not cross the urban areas. Rail lines and pipelines are way out of the beaten tracks. Thus they are close to the hard to connect populations in the middle nowhere." And then: '... I am investigating high speed for the boonies myself.' Easy low-cost trenching -- like elmat's in Africa -- doesn't apply to Canada. Especially across miles of tundra. Still, this post may give you some perspective on '...high speed for the boonies'. Not so easy, and not cheap. Jim

To: Cogito Ergo Sum who wrote (46209)	3/16/2018 2:34:55 AM
From: axial	2 Recommendations Recommended By Cogito Ergo Sum Frank A. Coluccio Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 46821

Network operator, solar company partner to bring internet to First Nation communities About 3 per cent of Canada’s 14.1 million households (roughly 423,000 homes) didn’t have access to broadband at the end of 2016 'Ottawa may be investing millions of dollars to improve access to high-speed internet in rural, remote and First Nation communities, but some aren’t waiting for the government funds to flow in order to get started. Instead, they’re partnering with businesses that are developing creative ways to bring faster broadband to underserved areas for a lower cost. WireIE and W Dusk plan to connect five First Nations communities in Southwestern Ontario, including Chippewa of the Thames and Wampole Island, with a network powered by solar energy to reduce the cost and avoid the reliability issues of diesel-powered generators. The pair already launched solar-powered infrastructure to serve the Wikwemikong Nation on Manitoulin Island. WireIE uses a mix of fibre, point-to-point microwave and point-to-multipoint spectrum to connect to its core network and sells wholesale access to the First Nation-owned internet provider, FirstTel. “We’re delivering the same type of service you’d get in a metropolitan area to underserved markets,” WireIE CEO Rob Barlow said in an interview. Barlow believes it doesn’t have to be so costly to build the critical infrastructure that underserved communities need to participate in the digital economy. WireIE is one-tenth the cost of a typical network, with solar energy decreasing its operating costs, he said. WireIE has not received any government subsidies and the First Nation communities it serves have applied for but not yet received funding, he added. “They’re working around it by finding other ways, by working with guys like us who can actually do it in a cost-effective matter because it’s so urgent,” Barlow said. [...] As the world continues to shift into the digital era, Isaac foresees an increase in alternative energy sources like solar or lithium ion batteries. He believes communities will be able to rely even less on diesel, even up North. “There’s also a lot of myth busting. In Canada we actually have a very good resource of solar power,” Isaac said, noting that colder temperatures reduce resistance and snow reflects light in the winter. Meantime, Ottawa continues to invest $500 million through the Connecting Canadians program to bring people online. This week, Innovation, Science and Economic Development announced $60.5 million in funding to get residents online in 72 communities in Alberta and B.C. “Access to high-speed internet is not a luxury; it’s essential,” Minister Navdeep Bains said in a statement Thursday.' Jim