In its most recent announcement to make global headlines, Google is honing in on an "experiment" with mega-fast fiber networks in select U.S. communities (for more on Google's Decision click HERE). So, the owner of the most Dark Fiber on the planet is poised to push the U.S. into gig+ offerings to the residence, huh? I say, cool! Someone has to do it, why not Google? Bring on "Fast-Fi," combine it with VoIP, own my mailbox, and make me a mobile Android :).
At 1 gigabyte per second, the Fast-Fi networks will be up to 300 times faster than your cable or DSL network connection today. So, what does that kind of bandwidth to your house and computer mean, and what is the potential of Google's experiment in super-fast fiber networks for commercial, educational and governmental institutions if these networks become ubiquitous? Let me ponder a few potential applications and results of this level of bandwidth, with you allowing me some latitude for meandering thoughts and connections, and, hopefully, providing me with your own thoughts via feedback and comment at the end.
COMMERCIAL
U.S. homes receiving that kind of bandwidth, consistently and nationwide, could give new meaning to "home office." At 1 gig per second, you can run a global business from your den: staying connected to others via streaming, always-on live video conference feeds for meetings with partners and staff using enterprise class equipment from companies like Tandberg/Cisco, while simultaneously delivering virtual training and or webinar events for your organization via applications like GoToMeeting from Citrix (and, involving those folks you're looking at via video feed). This could happen in realtime, while you're also accessing your CRM and Financial software packages, likely now running in the "cloud." In fact, with that amount of available bandwidth, you'd be able to set up your own rack of servers in your linen closet and deliver Software-as-a-Service (i.e. Cloud-based) applications yourself. The aggregation of all of these services could even drive the concept of Personal Web Portal to new and unforeseen heights.
Geez. With the commoditization of computer and peripheral equipment, we could see the residential construction industry come back strong due to massive demands for "home office additions," not to mention the swell of opportunity for "home business" office products and electronics as people begin to see home offices as permanent locations, instead of sattelite or remote locations. This might be just what Google has in mind - restarting the engine on the struggling economy!
Of course, if the home office is newly defined as THE office for professionals who are not tied to hands-on labor (e.g., construction, farming or manufacturing production), look for these types of workers to begin slowly migrating to a) the cities and sub-burbs with these "Fast-Fi" networks, or, assuming ubiquitous market coverage of the Fast-Fi networks, b) to locations that are interest and attribute driven, instead of work required.
EDUCATIONAL
The proliferation and success of the online education industry - Phoenix University, Walden University, Argosy University, Cambridge University, Kaplan, as well as the traditional University's forays online and the Virtual High School programs that are gaining ground in over-populating counties - combined with the proliferation of eLearning tools and platforms, is the first wave of transformation of our outdated education delivery systems in the U.S.
Just as "home office" might be a term with new meaning, a ubiquitous Fast-Fi network could mean the next phase for educational model shift in the U.S. Our views on "education" and the "education institution" itself might change even more dramatically than the prophets of online learning have foreseen since the advent of and prognostication for Internet technologies for teaching and learning.
Take the current trend toward "home schooling," with over 1.5 million students estimated to learn at home today and the rise of numerous organizations representing and selling directly to this marketplace. Home schooling literally requires students learning curriculum at home and testing against local and state standards with all of the "other" traditional students at their local schools. With over 1.5 million home schooled learners, websites and other means of communication have provided for the creation (formal or informal) of local communities of home schoolers, usually identified by neighborhood. In these neighborhoods, not all homes may yet be fortunate enough to have computers; so, the home(s) with the computer(s) often become(s) the computer lab(s) where students in the neighborhood learn technology skills, surf the net for homework responsibilities, and where parents research and even purchase study aids, school curriculum and other related items.
Like the commercial potentials for Fast-Fi, then, gig-speed networks, cool video and other social apps, and the continued commoditization driving price reductions in personal and business computing equipment and software, creates the potential for Virtual Schools to be much more virtual - potentially, and finally, making the physical school building either much smaller (reserved for administration offices), or completely obsolete.
Removing the student and teachers from the classroom and pushing them online, means safety and security concerns go down (this being one of the issues resulting in parents deciding on the home schooling route). Virtual schooling also opens up the possibility for truly "global schools," where teachers are not only teaching from different states, but also from different countries - providing unique and cultural perspectives, and, as such, driving much more respect for global diversity and global economy.
However, such education at a distance also removes the physical and social interaction aspects of schooling that is so important to creating a well-rounded citizen (not to mention the development of friendships and social behaviors) which will need to be addressed in new ways.
What I like most about the possibilities of Fast-Fi for education, though, is the potential it implies for greater involvement of parents, who, working from home or not, will be much closer and available to their children during and around the educational experience. The ability to find new ways to include and interact with parents in the educational process means improved communication in the "golden triad" of student-teacher-parent and more immediate attention to (and steering of) student learning and or disabilities.
GOVERNMENT
The Federal government, and state and local governments, their agencies and their leaders are consistent candidates for the kinds of improved communications and automated processes that increased bandwidth and applications ready to take advantage of such fat pipe can bring to their operations. A Fast-Fi network that allows images, documents and video to flow at blinding speeds creates the ability for massive operational efficiencies (e.g., reduced travel, reduced physical storage requirements, increased service organization speeds and improved accuracy of data). It also means increased and immediate interaction with citizens and interest groups via voice, video and other web-based communications - making for a happier and more engaged populace due to the sense of belonging to and involvement with (not to mention improved "customer service" aspects of) a government whose organizations are processing work on-time and on-budget based on feedback from their communities.
Beyond the back-end processing benefits that Fast-Fi could hold for governmental organizations, the social networking aspects that proved so influential in President Barack Obama's race to the top would be greatly enhanced - for the benefit of the politician as well as for the benefit of the citizen and the application vendor of choice (e.g. Facebook or Twitter). How?
Imagine the power of immediately connecting via high-definition video/audio link when you are "friended" in facebook and that new friend in online and open to "chat." The social dimensions of Facebook just expanded.
Imagine creating an "ad hoc" Twitter Event for your Parks & Recreation initiative on the fly at a pub in a town by simply notifying all of your causes friends who are online to join you from the pub via your iPad broadcast, using a peripheral web cam, which you can stream right into the local TV station's broadcast booth. Wham! Instant SoapBox (not to mention a PR person's nightmare).
SUMMARY
So, is this a bit far-fetched? Maybe. But not too far, I think. Some of it is possible today, with work, and would be even easier with an ultra-high-speed fiber network. What did I miss? Well, I'm sure there are implications for mobile apps, voice, VoIP and other technologies I've haven't considered here.
Let me know what you think!
~LGP
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