Workshop: Technology/Fixed Broadband

Aug
13
2009

Workshop: Technology/Fixed Broadband

9:30 am - 11:30 am EDT
Washington, DC
The goal of the workshop is twofold. First, to present a view on future broadband evolution: What are our future bandwidth needs? What type of services will need to be supported? What types of devices? What network capabilities will be needed to support this range of service needs? In addition to outlining some possible future requirements, some discussion of future network evolution will be included. There is an historical view associated with the evolution of the Internet. Does this evolution continue into the future? How do constructs such as overlay networks and cloud computing effect this historical view? Do some architectures promote competition and allow consumers more choice? What effect do specific architectures have on competition and innovation? Is broadband more than just about the Internet or is the Internet the defining vision for broadband?
 
Second, against this backdrop of possible future evolution, the current and future capabilities of the core technologies used to support fixed broadband applications will be discussed. What are the current performance characteristics of these core technologies (fiber, DSL, coax, satellite, terrestrial wireless)? What is the potential for future performance improvements? Who is best served by each technology and most importantly who is not well served? What specific policies would support further deployment of each technology? What barriers exist to connecting the largest number of peoples to broadband at the lowest cost? Should specific architectural goals be adopted to support deployment of broadband?

Webcast

Topics

The following are some of the preliminary topics that will be covered at this workshop. If you would like to discuss any other topics, please send us your suggestions.
  • Broadband vision
    • What capabilities will be required in the coming decade?
      • Bandwidth needs?
      • Service driven capabilities?
        • Scalability, connectivity, routing, addressing, security, authentication?
    • Future architecture challenges:
      • What architecture models might evolve with what advantages/disadvantages
        • Internet, Cloud, Broadband Commons, Other?
        • Cyber-security
          • What can be done to increase cyber-security?
          • How can different architectures affect the environment?
    • What are the challenges/inhibitors to broadband evolution?
  • Fixed broadband technologies (Fiber to the Home, DSL, Cable, Satellite, Wireless)
    • Current capabilities
      • Bandwidth, economic competitiveness
    • Future potential
      • Bandwidth, future economics, performance tradeoffs
    • Challenges to connectivity
      • Barriers to connecting the largest number of people and devices at the lowest cost

Agenda

9:30 am
Workshop Introduction, Julius Knapp Moderator
 
9:35 am Panel 1: Broadband Vision (55 minutes: 5 minutes from each panelist followed by questions from the FCC moderating panel and audience)
  • Dr. Victor Frost, Program Director, Network Technologies, National Science Foundation;
    • Dr. Victor Frost will discuss the challenges and need for research programs that will support the exploration of innovative and possibly radical network architectures, protocols and technologies that are responsive to the evolving requirements of current and yet to be discovered network services and applications.  Such research is seen as essential to ensuring that our nation’s broadband infrastructure remains a powerful platform for innovation.
  • Bill St. Arnaud, CRO Canarie
    • As Chief Research Officer for Canada's Advanced Internet Development Organization (CANARIE), Mr. St. Arnaud will discuss how new architecture and business models may further the deployment of broadband technologies while providing consumers with increased choice of service providers. 
  • Adam Drobot, CTO Telcordia
    • From the perspective of his position as President of Advanced Technology Solutions for Telcordia, Dr. Drobot will discuss the potential for reducing the cost of broadband infrastructure deployment by examining the total range of cost elements associated with the manufacture and deployment of broadband technologies and the opportunities to capitalize on significant economies through accelerated scaling of deployment to overall market size. 
  • Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Evangelist, Google
    • Google has pioneered innovative search applications and service architectures, such as cloud computing, that have been enabled by broadband technology. As Vice President and Chief Evangelist of Google, Dr. Cerf will discuss how the Internet and broadband technology have provided an unparallel platform for innovation. In addition, he will discuss future requirements and policies that will help ensure that the benefits of a broadband society are made available to the greatest number of people in a dynamic environment that continues to foster innovation. 
  • John T. Chapman, Cisco Fellow & Chief CMTS Architect, Cisco
    • Mr. Chapman will provide his perspective on how cable technologies can continue to evolve to support broadband needs. He will discuss future strategies for broadband cable evolution and the challenges in supporting the rapidly changing needs of the consumer environment. The increasing demand for bandwidth by the end user and the increasing dynamic range of user requirements is challenging current architectures. Future systems must meet this increased need for bandwidth while ensuring the consistent delivery of services across all users. 
  • Henning Schulzrinne, Professor, Columbia University
    • Professor Schulzrinne is co-developer of seminal protocols, now standardized and used on the Internet to support increasingly common applications such as telephony and multimedia services. He will comment on future challenges for broadband evolution from his perspective both as a researcher in networking protocols and as a major contributor towards the development of innovative services enabled by the nation’s broadband infrastructure. 
  • Paul Misener, VP Global Public Policy, Amazon
    • Amazon is a company whose very existence has been enabled by the innovative platform afforded by the Internet and broadband technology. In addition, Amazon has continued to leverage the opportunities afforded by broadband technologies, through the application of new service architectures such as cloud computing. Amazon has used cloud computing service architectures both for its own needs and as a commercial platform for outside innovators. Mr. Misener will comment on how Amazon is continuing the leverage broadband technology evolution and future issues in providing broadband enabled services to the marketplace. 
10:30 am Open Q&A Period (30 minutes)
 
11:00 am Break
 
11:10 am Panel 2: Fixed Broadband Technologies (60 minutes: 5 minutes for each panelist followed by questions from the FCC moderating panel and audience)
  • David Burstein, Editor, DSL Prime
    • Mr. Burstein publishes one of the most influential newsletters on broadband technology. He is widely regarded as an expert on broadband trends, network costs, and industry issues. He will discuss from this perspective the future potential of broadband evolution, barriers to deployment, and policies that might enable greater access to broadband technologies and its benefits. 
  • Paul Henry, Broadband Wireless Systems Research Division, AT&T
    • Mr. Henry has been a researcher on broadband optical and wireless technologies for AT&T Labs. Advances in wireless technologies now promise potential future downlink speeds in the range of 1 Gb/s. From this perspective, he will discuss the potential for terrestrial wireless systems to provide fixed broadband solutions and the supporting factors required to ensure viability. 
  • Mark DePietro, VP Strategy/Business Development, Broadband Home Solutions Motorola
    • As a shared medium broadband architecture, cable systems are being challenged by the ever increasing demands for more bandwidth. Motorola is one of the industry’s premier suppliers of broadband cable systems. As VP Strategy/Business Development for Motorola, Mr. DePietro will discuss Motorola’s response to this challenge and his perspective on future requirements for broadband evolution. 
  • Marc Goldburg, CTO, Assia
    • DSL technology has enabled telephone lines to economically provide broadband services to consumers, both from central offices and from fiber-fed remote nodes. Techniques such as dynamic spectrum management, pioneered by Prof. John Cioffi, a founder of Assia, are permitting evolution of DSL speeds in the range of 100s of Mbps. Marc Goldburg, CTO of Assia, will discuss the potential for DSL technology to meet the demands of broadband evolution and the domains in which deployment of such advanced DSL systems are optimal. 
  • Jason Livingood, Exec. Director Internet Engineering, Comcast
    • As the largest cable service provider in the United States, Comcast provides broadband services to a significant portion of the nation. Mr. Livingood will describe the strategies Comcast is employing to meet future broadband growth needs and the new broadband platform requirements that are being driven by this growth. 
  • David Young, Vice President, Verizon
    • Perhaps no company is as identified with the deployment of optical fiber based broadband services as Verizon. Mr. Young will discuss how fiber is uniquely suited to meet the future demands of broadband growth as well as the economic challenges associated with fiber based systems. 
  • Geoff Burke, Senior Director, Corporate Marketing, Calix
    • While fiber is sometimes associated as a solution for high population areas, some companies are developing products for a broad range of market sizes. Geoff Burke will discuss the potential for fiber based systems to support future broadband service requirements and the unique challenges in developing such systems for smaller market areas. 
  • Stuart Lipoff, President, IP Action Partners
    • Mr. Lipoff serves as an industry consultant to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. As such, he has an expert perspective on the challenges faced by this industry sector in serving both current and future broadband needs. He will discuss how the industry intends to support the evolution of the nation’s broadband infrastructure and specific challenges that will confront the industry. 
12:10 pm Open Q&A Period (30 minutes)
 
12:40 pm Closing Statements/Adjournment

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