Telecosm

jsled contributed the below review of the fascinating Telecosm, a bound to stretch some perceptions of the world and the place that communication bandwidth plays in how we live in it. Telecosm explores the implications of information transfer as an abundant resource and no longer the bottleneck it once was, and raises the question of What's Next.

Telecosm: How Infinite Bandwidth will Revolutionize Our World author George Gilder pages 264 publisher Free Press rating 8 reviewer jsled ISBN 0-684-80930-3 summary A look at the effect of the coming infinite bandwidth afforded by fiber-optic and high-frequency wireless telecommunication technologies.

"The computer age is over."

In the first sentence of his book Telecosm, George Gilder seeks to garner your attention, shattering the widely held belief, especially on forums like Slashdot, that computers are still the most important development around. However, this is by no means an act of yelling "Fire" in the theatre, as Gilder goes on to explain exactly why patterned silicon [the level of the Microcosm, a previous Gilder book] is increasingly irrelevant to propelling the wave of revolution.

Gilder's thesis is relatively straightfoward: ages are defined by their scaracities and abundances. We've just gone through an age where silicon/computing power was scarce; now, it's become highly abundant. Presently, bandwidth is still relatively scarce [unless you live close to Silicon Valley or other metropolitan hubs]... but very soon, there will be a tremendous amount of bandwidth between everyone. With abundant bandwidth, things will start to change ...

Covering a lot of ground in his book, Gilder jumps casually between quantum phsyics and business sensiblities, from undersea cables laid by Global Crossing up to the LEO satellites launched by Globalstar. In between, he tells well-researched stories about Gates, Grove, Andreesen and many others. Gilder, also author of the Gilder Technology Report, has established his position in the finiancial-information world as someone who's horizon of clarity extends further than most others, and tailors his book to these readers [Appendix A, for example, is a listing of Telecosm players, with their symbols, stock prices and market caps; Appendix B consists of ~1 page detail about these companies.].

Gilder tells the stories of the invention of single-mode fiber, using the fused silica as a wave-guide for the light instead of simply a reflective-clad glass pipe. How the single-mode fiber is enhanced with erbium-doped amplifers, and how wavelength-division multiplexing brings the fiber into it's own, able to supplant the entire old intelligent networks with a simple, all-optical dumb network of enormous capacity. Gilder also quickly summarizes the difference between CDMA and TDMA, and makes more than a couple of references to Shannon, entropy and information theory.

After explaining the seven layers of the OSI model, Gilder argues that they will all be supplanted in the telecosm by the fibersphere, "eliminat[ing] virtually everything but the physical layer from the center of the network". After further proclaiming the imminent death of InterOp, Gilder talks about Metcalfe and the Ethernet as part of his larger message: the classic telecom companies have locked themselves into "copper cages," filled with expensive, intelligent and ultimately doomed control and switching equipment. As available bandwidth approaches infinity, this is not only unnecessary, but ultimately an impediment to communication [the light-into-electrons problem faced by optical-networking companies]. Later, Gilder dismisses ATM, with the statement, "Looming intelligence on the edge of the network will relieve all the current problems attributed to ethernets and will render the neatly calculated optimizations of ATM irrelevant."

While this is not to say that these companies cannot break out of their self-imposed cages, Gilder provides examples of the decisions made which allow new players to come up and stake their claims. How GE focus-grouped itself out of computers, networks and software. How AT&T can only go so far to increase their voice quality because of the cost of upgrading every component of the intelligent network. How government regulation helps create and keep the "Digital Divide" intact.

Gilder also profiles the smart decisions made -- usually by smaller, more nimble companies -- which have started to enable the fibersphere. For each, Gilder talks about the people behind these companies. How Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom flunked out of two "distinctly second-tier" colleges, then created WorldCom from scratch. How John Malone of TCI created a very veritcal arrangement of conduit and content, only to merge conduit and conduit later [merging with AT&T]. How Gary Winnick of Global Crossing, a disciple of Michael Milken, created one of the most exciting companies in the Telecosm. This is a book of names and companies, and by understanding who they are and from whence they came, Gilder allows us to understand just how powerful a force they are.

However, when it comes to predicting the changes associated with infinite bandwidth, Gilder begins to fall short. In just two fanciful chapters at the end, Gilder recaps on some themes of the work, and tells a story or two about the family of the Telecosm, reminiscent of 1950s-style "House of the Future" exhibits. Gilder here tells a story about dad listening to his computer tell him about his portfolio fluctuations while he shaves, the son getting immediate medical attention from the diagnostic sensor linked to the Internet, his daughter submiting her Calculus problems over the net, and his wife doing all the grocery shopping, online, by 9 a.m.

He does, however, have some very important words for the changing face of information delivery in the Telecosm, making promises impacting the nature of society. "The new rule is: The customer is sovereign and he knows what he wants: It is not your product; it is time." Gilder promises that businesses will be forced to abscond their implicit drive to waste your time. The average 38-month wait for the installation of a phone line, and the further telemarketing interruptions. The "supreme time waster", television. The decline of lame mass-market advertising, leaving only supremely-targeted ads which actually have a chance of being beneficial to you. Collaboration enabled by the fibersphere will be "liberated from hierarchies that often waste their time and talents," creating new cottage industries which will thrive and grow. This is a future in which the sovereign individual is freed to become as much as she allows.

Gilder's writing is quite readable, at times bordering on poetic. Though the typos in this edition are a bit annoying, they hardly detract from the quality of the content. However, Gilder does miss one important point; in the abundance of bandwidth, there becomes a new scarcity of content. In the end, Gilder's book may best be thought of as a call to arms: start wasting bandwidth, and start working on solving the next problem -- one of novel creation.

You can purchase this book at Fatbrain.

Comments

Available for free (last I checked)

[Gabey]

I got this book free online a couple weeks ago, although I haven't had time to read it yet...link is here: http://www.worldcom.com/us/info/t1/
Enjoy!

Best laid || layed plans

[joq]

Could it be the author wrote this book left it on the shelf and avoided the problems which are plaguing the industry at this current time?


This is a future in which the sovereign individual is freed to become as much as she allows.

Wrong, this is a future where many are going to have to tiptoe through all sorts of scenarios to avoid having a future littered with legal worries from all sides of the spectrum. How can you become "freed" from anything when at the rate the tech field is going, we've seen a surge of lawsuits from all walks of life ranging from patents, to copyrights, to any other fabled scenario a company wants to spend money litigating?

Looking at that aspect, I'd say many would become rather restricted and reluctant to promote "the next best thing", or even themselves out of fear of retribution.

Secondly amidst all that nonsense, for those who either don't notice, or ignore the warnings, taking a look at the legal system itself regarding tech, it will only get worse, as laws (which are often so broad and obsolete to a circumstances) prohibits many from acting. (e.g. Jerome Hackenkamp, Max Vision, Keith Henson, Napster [corporations aren't free from actions either], Jim Bell and the list goes on) to promote or revolutionize, or even speak in today's world.

What world is the author living in I'd like to visit?

However, Gilder does miss one important point; in the abundance of bandwidth, there becomes a new scarcity of content. In the end, Gilder's book
may best be thought of as a call to arms: start wasting bandwidth, and start working on solving the next problem -- one of novel creation.

How can you expect to solve the next problem when the ones in front of you are ignored? What about taking a realistic approach to focusing on whats on the table now before crying over spilled milk later?

The real shortage isn't content, either

[uncadonna]

In the end, Gilder's book may best be thought of as a call to arms: start wasting bandwidth, and start working on solving the next problem -- one of novel creation.

Bah.

There is no content shortage. There is a content surplus. There is an attention shortage. The consumer of content is a conscious intelligence, and each such consumer has a maximum of 24 hours per day of such attention to allocate to content.

Building content to expand to fill bandwidth will just result in bigger, faster and more extensive drivel. The content provider needs to focus on quality, and the network needs to find a way to pay for it.

The Computer Age is Over

[ackthpt]

Well, yeah. Last I'd heard it's the Information Age. Occasionally I'll lie awake at night wondering where it's all going. The unhappy thought is it is on the down-slope after cresting all the ideals of what Computers/Information Systems/Internet could all be and careening toward mediocrity. As radio passed through its golden age, eclipsed by television which passed through its golden age, to the internet, which is passing through its golden age... what will there be, but an instant glut of the most base, ordinary mind rot. Gain some perspective and see. It's not like we're heading toward some Avalon.

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