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OPERATION: LINK UP |
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Bridging the Digital Divide In Colorado |
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Operation Link Up—Technical Briefing |
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Illustration #1 depicts a simplified view of bandwidth allocation and capacity of the existing Qwest microwave radio link providing ALL telephone, cell phone and internet services to Silverton from Durango. There is no path redundancy, or an alternate route in the event of technical failure.
The microwave radio link has three (3) DS-3 circuits to transport data to and from Silverton and Durango. Each DS-3 circuit is capable of handling 44.7 Mbps (mega bits per second) of data at best, which does not include overhead and other expected losses. Only two DS-3 circuits are actually used with the third reserved as a spare.
One DS-3 circuit (44.7 Mbps) is dedicated to 911, telephone and cell phone service. This would include providing additional bandwidth needed by smart phones, PDA devices and wireless cards.
The second DS-3 circuit (44.7 Mbps) is dedicated to providing internet services such as DSL, T-1 and other types of data lines.
A third DS-3 circuit is an inactive spare.
That’s best case, 89.4 Mbps of total bandwidth for all of Silverton’s consumer telecom needs. In reality, bandwidth is considerably less due to overhead and other known losses.
Bottom line, this is an archaic, legacy ATM-based microwave radio system that isolates Silverton and San Juan County, inhibits economic growth and telecom development in our community and region. |
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1: Qwest—SILVERTON Microwave Radio Link |
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2: Qwest—SILVERTON 911 & Phone Bandwidth |
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Slide 2 shows a simplified view of the impact on 44.7 Mbps of available bandwidth for 911, telephone and cell phone devices .
A typical land-line telephone only uses 64k of bandwidth allowing the theoretical use of 672 simultaneous calls.
Last generation, G2 cell phones which are now being phased out use more than double the bandwidth of land-line telephones, at 144k. In a best case scenario, 336 of these devices could be used at the same time.
Current generation, G3 cell phones use up to 3 Mbps. A total of 15 of these phones operating at maximum data transfer rates would use all of the telephone bandwidth currently provided to Silverton by Qwest microwave.
Next generation , G4 cell phone use up to 100 Mbps of bandwidth. One cell phone could max out Silverton’s microwave driven telephone system. |
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Slide 3: Cell Bandwidth Utilization Trends |
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Slide 3 illustrates the trend of accelerated use of bandwidth in wireless telephone and internet devices.
Just ten years ago, each cell phone used the same bandwidth as a land-line phone, 64 k.
By 2010, cell phones were considerably more capable and using up to 3 Mbps of bandwidth an exponential increase.
Well before another decade has passed, experts predict G4 cell phone devices will use 100 Mbps or more of bandwidth.
The graphics on the right compare the capacity of fiber and microwave. A single fiber optic strand can attain 14 Tbps (terabits per second) of effective bandwidth.
Qwest’s DS-3 based microwave radio system serving Silverton is 50 year-old technology which is limited to 44.7 Mbps of bandwidth for each of the two active circuits.
Which system would you to prefer to meet the current and future needs of your community? |
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4: Qwest—Silverton Internet Bandwidth |
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Slide 4 shows a simplified technical view of the impact of 44.7 Mbps of Qwest bandwidth for all of Silverton’s internet services.
A total of 672 dial-up modems could be used simultaneously as these devices use 64 k each.
A typical DSL service line or T-1 circuit uses 1.4 Mbps of bandwidth. A total of 32 of these devices or lines operating at peak will exceed the available bandwidth of the Qwest microwave link.
Qwest also offers 7 Mbps DSL in Silverton. It would only take seven (7) of these devices operating at full capacity to use all the bandwidth.
Slide 5 (below) illustrates a demand model comprised of a different consumer internet devices accessing the Qwest microwave based system in Silverton. This is one of many different models that could be used to show why slowdowns and delays are experienced in Silverton during peak use periods.
Future trends point to an exponential increase in consumer demand for internet bandwidth. The use of Qwest’s microwave radio infrastructure will continue to restrict and inhibit Silverton’s economic future.
There’s also public safety concerns in the summer months when population expands and internet demand increases. Consider the impact on Qwest’s microwave radio system when more than 25,000 people attend Silverton’s 4th of July celebrations! |
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5: Qwest—Silverton Internet Demand Model |
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6: Qwest’s Telecom Pipe To Silverton How Big Is It? |
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Qwest provides Silverton with 7 Mbps DSL service! Sounds great doesn’t it?
Imagine a fire hydrant supplied with water from a garden hose. Sure, 100 gallons a minute could come out of the hydrant. Just pray your house doesn’t catch fire to find out the actual volume of water is much less due to how it is supplied. |