Broadband Communities

MAY-JUN 2014

BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.

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50 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | MAY/JUNE 2014 SUMMIT COVERAGE Let's Gigafy America: The 2014 Broadband Communities Summit How do you get a gigabit network? How do you make it work? How do you make it fnancially sustainable? And what do you do with it once you've got it? Speakers at the 2014 BroadBand Communities Summit addressed all these questions and more. A BBC Staf Report A ustin's designation as a Google Fiber city was a major reason that BroadBand Communities moved its Summit there in 2014. Google is now deep into the permitting, design and engineering process in Austin and plans to launch services by the end of this year. Few project details have been released, and a scheduled Summit keynote by the head of Google Fiber in Austin was canceled because of illness, so we can't bring you up to date on Google service oferings, technology or rollout plans in Austin. However, the ripple efects of Google Fiber in Austin are in some ways even more interesting than the project itself – and those ripples made waves at the Summit. First, Google's announcement of gigabit service in Austin prompted Austin's two telecom providers, AT&T; and Grande Communications, to announce that they, too, would ofer gigabit service – and, because they already had infrastructure in the city, they were able to ramp up more quickly than Google. AT&T;'s announcement proved to be the frst step of a larger initiative, GigaPower, which is being rolled out in multiple cities. Second, the local government and nonprofts in Austin, following the lead of those in Kansas City, are determined to use the city's broadband wealth to best advantage. Te city's contract with Google Fiber included 10 years of free Internet service for 100 organizations; those organizations, as well as large players such as the University of Texas, are now preparing to become gigabit institutions in a gigabit city. AT&T; GIGAPOWER Dahna Hull, vice president and general manager of Austin for AT&T; Services, said Gigabit Vision in Austin Dahna Hull, AT&T; BBC_May14.indd 50 5/29/14 9:17 AM

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