News Notes

January/February 2002

Clueless About Wireless?

by: Thomas A. Plastino, CITEC's Executive Director

Bob Dylan famously said that you don't need to be a weatherman to tell which way the wind's blowing. By the same token, you don't need to be a PhD in wireless communications to figure out that wireless is going to play a critical role in the economic development of rural areas like the North Country.

Let's get one thing straight right away: except in very unusual circumstances, affordable, dependable wireless communications won't replace wireline communications channels for the foreseeable future. So, communities can't ignore their copper, fiber optic, and coaxial cable connectivity.

So why all the fuss about wireless technologies? There are at least five critical considerations which rural Americans need to ponder:

First, not all wireless technologies are new and both the older wireless technologies (like radio and television, not to mention CD radios) and newer ones (cell phones, satellite communications, wireless Internet) have played a major role in enriching the quality of rural life and in helping to keep that quality of life competitive with urban America's.

Second, rural America can't assume that the older wireless technologies (like radio and television) will not themselves change. Already a rural resident can get national news and specialized radio programming over an Internet connection. Will our rural radio stations soon become a thing of the past -- and, if so, who will supply the community information functions which these radio stations have supplied for years?

Third, even though major villages and cities in regions like the North Country are now (or soon will be) served by private and/or public broadband wireline connections to the outside world, what will happen to the smaller communities?

It will probably continue to be economically feasible for service suppliers to provide affordable, near-adequate wireline services to places like Canton/Potsdam (with the four colleges located there) or Plattsburgh (sitting astride Rt. 87) into the foreseeable future. But what about places like Elizabethtown or Harrisville, which lack the critical mass of users or favorable location which would make it possible to install wireline services at a competitive price? Can communities like these be connected to the nearest wireline facilities through a wireless system? the evolution of Upper Canada Network, serving rural areas in southern Ontario, suggests that this is the case.

Fourth, how does wireless apply to the so-called "last mile" problem? sure, a community may be served by a "big pipe" that brings communications into a central office but how can a small business or residence tap into that pipe...affordably?

Perhaps rural community residents in the North Country could start thinking about installing wireless local connections between their points of use and their local interconnections with the outside world? Call it a community loop or community network, except the last mile would be wireless. In many places in the Great Plains and the Rockies, small villages (and the local farm residents within line of sight of the village water towers) are getting higher capacity and modestly priced connections with both the outside world and their near neighbors through such contrivances.

Finally, even if we all had PhDs in communications technologies, it is certain that the pace and scope of technological development -- in both wired and wireless alike -- will continue to surprise us. We must assume that much of what we do today will be obsolete tomorrow.

So, until then, how can businesses and communities establish the connectivity they need? Wireless technologies, which are frequently much less expensive than wireline technologies, can provide the connectivity needed -- both to the outside world and locally. That way, when the successor technologies for rural areas become available, the investment costs for the temporary wireless fix won't act as major constraints to their adoption.

TP

CITEC Welcomes Nicholas T. Alger as Telecom Analyst

In order to best meet the needs of North Country companies, CITEC is pleased to welcome Nick Alger as its Telecommunications Analyst. Nick has over 18 years of operations, marketing, business development, and strategic planning experience in the data and voice communications industries. He has served as Executive VP of Newport Telephone Company in Newport, NY, and as the Director of Product Development and Management at Telergy in Syracuse, NY.

Nick provides telecom management consulting in the areas of business, product and technology development, network design, feasibility analysis, and service provider analysis. He has conducted feasibility studies and developed business plans for a multitude of telecom services, including Internet access, business voice and data services, broadband data services (i.e., DSL), optical DWDM, and optical Ethernet services. In addition, he has performed network analysis and technology reviews on wireless, IP, WAN, video conferencing, and many other telecommunications technologies.

Nick holds a BS in Telecommunications from SUNY Institute of Technology and is nearly completed with graduate studies towards a MS in Telecommunications from SUNY Institute of Technology. Nick is also an adjunct professor of Telecommunications at SUNY Institute of Technology.

Top 10 New Year's Resolutions

from a NIST-MEP press release
December 2001

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a program of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and CITEC's federal affiliate, is encouraging small businesses to start the year off by making a New Year's resolution to invest in cost-saving and productivity-increasing measures that can positively impact a company's bottom line.

Top 10 New Year's resolutions for 2002 include:

1. Reexamine your marketing approach. Start by assessing your products and markets to find opportunities previously not considered.
2. Profile your best customers then compare the profile to marketing databases to find more of them.
3. Invest in your sales force...Send them to a sales training course and give them the technology and support they need to be effective.
4. Refresh your business perspective. Get fresh ideas on your business by getting an objective, outside view of your company.
5. Streamline your business strategies. Lean business strategies lead to improvements in quality and customer satisfaction; time and cost savings -- all of which translate into bottom-line impacts.
6. Upgrade your network security. Take steps now to ensure the security of your business data.
7. Review your disaster plans. The Sept. 11 attacks impacted a variety of supply chains. A disruption of any kind can be better managed using a well-articulated disaster plan.
8. Invest in employee training. Promote from within by providing skills that prepare them for the next job. Employee education pays off.
9. Take stock of what you measure and why. Inventory turns and on-time delivery performance are two indicators for future cost-savings and improvement opportunities.
10. Engage your employees. Communicating with employees at the grassroots level is an easy way to identify areas for improvement at your company.