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Name For a Community-Owned Fiber Network?
CleverMonkey writes "I'm a town representative to a newly created municipal group creating a new type of telco. This group has formed to build and operate a FTTH network, and provide both triple-play services and access to other providers, to over 20 mostly rural towns in East-Central Vermont. The project is novel because of the size of the network (a cable pass down every road within 600 square miles), the low-density of the area served, and the public-ownership/private-financing model that is being used. Some of the towns included in this group currently have nothing beyond 14.4 dial-up on a good day. This project began as a grassroots effort in a couple of towns and the name they chose was ECFiber — East-Central Fiber — or sometimes the East-Central Vermont Community Network. We hope that this network will grow beyond one corner of this state, and we would like a name that is both descriptive and flexible. What would you name a community-owned, cutting-edge, G-PON fiber-optic network covering every remote corner of two-dozen contiguous towns?"
Reflects the grass roots movement and that you're routing traffic down fibre (grass is a fibre!)
Heaven.
The Mothership
Too expensive.
Fiesta Online
http://albertasupernet.ca/
I'm not anti-social, I'm anti-idiot.
I Dunno!
...Skynet?
Circumcision is child abuse.
pipe dream? IPO? Comcast subsiderary?
I would call it Bob.
I would say CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet, but it's already taken.
How about CutCo, EdgeCom or Interslice?
How about this:
Vermont's Eastern/Rural Independently Zoned Open Network
I'm sure the name has never been used.
FOG
It envelopes everything and everyone. The Fiber Optic Gateway.
That is awesome; what a great idea. Please be sure to keep us posted on what it is you all actually end up doing with all that fibre.
As for a name I dunno. Why not something simple and Vermonty like "Red Clover Rural?"
I've got 2 ideas.
;)
1) Backhoes are illegal 'round these parts *sound of shotgun cycling*
OR
2) The Community Headache
Never gonna give your packets up, I suppose.
High-speed porn delivery network?
BoonieNet
SparseCom
FarmNet
AReallyReallyReallyRidiculouslyGoodNet or ARRRRGNet
Cowbell
This signature is typed manually.
The Big Green Pipe, GreenNet, VermontPublicNet
14.4k dial-up, wow... how about mobile broadband? Hey even GPRS is faster than this!
And when setting up a community network, I'm also quite sure there are reasonably fast and much cheaper wireless solutions. Not necessarily WiFi (but with strategially placed directional antennas that should do quite well too), but maybe even packet radio like solutions?
Why laying cables in this wireless age in the first place? Cables are expensive to roll out and very hard to upgrade, especially when you are talking about low-density rural areas.
Or what about wireless connections for the backbone, and only wire the last bits to the homes, assuming clusters of homes that you want to connect?
Community Owned Fiber Optics Network - COFON ("cough on", or "coffin"). Coffin is kinda cool 'cause then you can be like "Put the final nail in the competition." It does open you to some devious marketing strategies by your competitors though, so maybe not.
If "community-owned" is hyphonated you could be C-FON ("see fun"). Marketing something like "See Fun, See Progress". *shrug*
I got it... Community-owned Light-based Information Transportation Services, or CL-ITS. That's the ticket.
CommUNITY Network sounds nice, gets the point across, etc.
COFFEE as in Community Owned Fast Fiber Enterprise E-initive ?
Not sure how the band 'Grinspoon' would like that though.
Community Owned Fibre For Intense Networking
Fiberoads, take me home
To the place I belong
East-Central Vermont, mountain momma
Take me home, Fiberoads
If you go with public ownership, you're going to run into the same problems many community wifi projects have run into. Interference from telcos at the state and federal government level. They will be all over you, and you will end up wasting funds fending off legal challenges, and lobbying the state government to not pass legislation that would destroy your project.
Instead I suggest the cooperative model that has worked for rural electric providers for over fifty years. A cooperative is a corporation that is owned by its customers. Using a cooperative organization will keep the government out, which I think will be essential to your organization's survival.
Good luck!
It means enthusiasm, energy, vigour. Rhymes with NERVE. Good luck. I wish we had something like that here.
iNet
[The] Technate
ECV Technate
Lightway
[The] Freeway
Digisect
Cybertech
Tri-county square route (or whatever instead of tri-)
IV (Internet Vermont, IV as in intravenous therepy)
Cybotiks Inc.
Fiber-Comm
Community Nexus
Nexus Comm
Fiberopia
SysComm
fNet
LoComm (local community/communications)
uNet (unit, your 'net, etc.)
Demented But Determined.
...but are you fucking serious? I know weekends on Slashdot are typically slow, but this is ridiculous. The only thing I don't understand is why this wasn't posted under Ask Slashdot; at least that way I could have filtered it out.
You don't really think that the incumbent telcos are going to let you survive to complete this, do you?
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
OR Blazing VD-Net
CowNet: Community Owned Wired Net(work)
It is catchy, cute, but not cutesy, and straight to the point, without too much "technical overhead."
Community Owned Fiber Network, or COFN (coffin) for short.
It fits because it'll be the death of you!
YMMV - I was not a marketing major.
"This food is problematic."
Just kidding, good luck.
... a boondoggle. I hope all those VT citizens have a lot of money.
When will people understand that municipalities are inept and couldn't offer a economical triple play if their jobs depended on it. Oh wait, you can't fire government employees for screwing up so I guess there jobs don't depend on it. See the problem here?
Pick the acronym first. Then decide what it stands for. Use a 'V', it is Vermont after all. Let's say you go with "VLAN". Vermont Local Access Network. That was easy. Or "VICAR". Vermont Internet and Commodity Access Route. Another easy one. "RAVE". Rural Access for Vermont Enlightenment. See how easy it is? Just remember: Acronym first. Meaning second.
CWAN
Community Wide Area Network. You might go with Community Metropolitan Area Network but that would lend itself to being called c-man... no good.
Then later, outside of the East-Central Vermont CWAN project, you can add the South-Western Vermont CWAN
I'd stop short of calling it VCWAN in case McCain starts getting flashbacks.
Technically Grid or MAN describe what you are trying to make. Metropolitan Area Network is an old term. You could put an F on the front for Fiber, FGrid or FMAN instead of CWAN...
Finding a name is a good problem to have. Wish they had that problem around here
Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
Of course that is probably not PC enough so maybe somethings like
The InterTube
or
IP Freely
or, just
The Special Internet Group Network Architecture Layer (The SIGNAL)
OK OK, those are pretty bad, but I applaud your goals and wish you well in your en devour.
-- The morphemes of your disquisition are ascertainable, but they have eschewed an ambit of transpicuous exposition.
Columnity Illuminocity
The diversity and expression of human opinion is essential to human survival.
WOW, they are getting really creative with slashvertisements now a days.
What would we call it? A rose by any other name.
This is my footer. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Grassroots Open Access To Serve East-Central Vermont
I would call it IntarWeb, or Interbutts, or some other dumb slang word for the internet, and then go around and sue the pants off everyone that uses it online. This way has three advantages:
1 - you have a lot of built-in name recognition
2 - you have an extra revenue stream from suing idiots
3 - you will force said idiots to stop using at least one dumb slang term, the whole world benefits!
If you're going to go with the pun I'd understate it just a little bit more. Viola, your very own glassroutes!
From their website "we can insure that the most modern high-speed service is available to ALL residents of central Vermont towns." I wonder how much insurance like that costs? I'd like to get some for my Internet connection. :)
Since you are already going to be digging, you should really consider putting down large conduit, much like sewer pipes. Yes, it would be more expensive, but when you are done, you would have the benefit that upgrading would be dramatically simpler. You could also rent out the space to anyone that wants to run their own data lines. While the idea is that you will offer the data lines yourself, having the backup plan of being able to offer citizens multiple data lines from different sources would be a huge boon. Plus, local industry would be able to rent space to have their own dedicated lines for intranet service between location without having to re-dig up the road system. The just pay their monthly fee, and have someone pull the lines for them. This should also help with some of the fears associated with a government agency trying to be an ISP. If it really sucks, other players can come into the market. After all, the biggest roadblock to competition in data delivery is the cost of digging up all of the roads, and the right of way issues.
conet = community-owned network
I don't know if it works similair, but here in Ã-rebro/Kumla it's called "StadsnÃt":
http://www.stadsnat.se/
Simply "Urban network".
The prices are right atleast, I think you can get 10 mbps for 99 sek = 10.5 euro / 16.65 us dollar.
"Home and Office Porn Efficiently Delivered"
"Old camp"
Now seriously, why not call it "Our Net (tm)" ?
Our Net might sound damn good... and give the people paying for it a measure or at least a feeling of some sort of stake in this thing.
" What luck for rulers that men do not think" - Adolf Hitler
Out Of Business Soon Fibre
This is what I was thinking. "Glass Route Networking". Something such. Funny, but seriously usable, in my opinion. And memorable.
BTF (Bound to Fail)
Sounds like another doomed municipal project using fiber instead of wifi.
Sorry to be the nay sayer, but come on, how many times have we heard this same wishful thinking before? They always have a "great" plan, a so-so business model, and lots and lots of town meetings were everyone agrees it's a great idea right up to the point where they have to start ponying up some real funds.
...Silk Road, to emphasize the point of connecting many people who are far apart for the betterment of them all.
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
Perhaps in California or Florida your argument might make sense, but this is Vermont we are talking about here. I grew up in that part of the country. There is an enormous sense of community spirit that cuts across town and even state (why isn't Hanover in on this?) boundaries. These are very small communities we are talking about here, so this basically IS a cooperative. You can see it in the way they share school systems, mutual aid for fire and ambulance support, snow removal, and the like. The towns already own their own infrastructure for water and sewer, and in some cases they own their own electrical power infrastructure. They do things for themselves and they don't need the feds or Verizon to tell them what to do. Owning and running their own computer network is not a stretch at all.
or Party Line
I'd call it fucking awesome.
ROMANES EUNT DOMUS
CoCeG-PONNCERCOTDCT
if this has already been said...but how about "A Fucking Pipe Dream" ?!?!? What a genuine waste of freaking money! How many people do you actually think will pay the price, or actually care? Are you trying to attract new residents, or ??? For the sake of all that is holy, spend the money on something that is actually innovative, and quit with the rural bandwidth!!!
"My immediate reaction is "WTF? What kind of moron doesn't make things 64-bit safe to begin with?" Linus
I'm in east-central vermont. why haven't I heard about this yet? We're still stuck on DSL, and I have friends a mile away who are still on dial up because Verizon and GMAVT don't want the expense of covering their area for the relatively small added customer base.
How about ironing out the technical and financial details before worrying about something so important as a name? Maybe you are coming back next week to ask for out help on that. Honestly, how screwed is this project if they can't even come up with a fucking name.
Every site you moderators link to from the front page is "Community pwned;" - The name would be 'Server Too Busy..'
(And you cocksuckers [readers] need to get over and away with your fears of semicolons and shit; fucking faggots you be..)
A horse can't be sick, you know, even if he wants to.
"Pipe dream"
pronounced like sci fi.
let it stand for Community Internet Fiber or something. Copyright me.
For UnBearable Users
pretty sure whatever you come up with will be scooped, registered, and trademarked before you can even begin to get your shit straight.
...I'd say omG-PONies would be a fairly good name.
why not ask gmavt.net to do this? they have been great in my area in regards high speed dsl and are just starting to do fiber. Seems like they are right on the border of your area, is there some restriction that prevents them from servicing you but allows for a municipal sponsored solution? Given the large service areas and low # customers they really dont ask much of a premium compared to major metro prices. I've also heard comcast was trying to come across from the bristol area with fiber too?
What's the name of the local electrical grid? What's the name of the sewer and water system?
I'm very familiar with the project, and I think it'll best succeed when Internet connectivity is thought of along the above lines.
Remember, the Internet is just an interconnection of separate networks, so having one big name isn't all that important.
So, 'Vermont Internet Grid Area 2B' is probably fancy enough. If you want to label the people running it the 'NNE Rural Internet Authority' or something, fine, but ValleyNet already has good name recognition, too.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Got It! VERmont Independent ZONe.
Anybody want a peanut?
Road kill?
Their they're doing there hair.
Vermonts East-Central Network Association.
I have a dog; what should I name it? Post that one next!
How about The Eastern Regional Autonomous Network?
(1) It's a play on Terra (i.e. of the Earth, appropriate for a buried cable)
(2) I'd guess it's appropriate from a speed context (I don't know for sure, but Tbps speeds seem within reason for a light pipe)
(3) When Verizon et al hear about this, they'll shit their pants because of the threat that other communities would join in and/or duplicate it. So they WILL come gunning for you on both the regulatory and legislative levels. They'll sow as much FUD as they can... and this way, their efforts will be known as 'The War on TERA'. Keeps things simple that way: freedom-loving people everywhere will already know which side of it they stand on, as will those who prefer to remain enslaved to our corporate masters.
Listen to what I say, not what I mean...
I damn sure wouldn't give a system supposed provide "to over 20 mostly rural towns in East-Central Vermont" a name based on the technical details like "cutting-edge, G-PON fiber-optic network". A tech-based name would be contrary to the nature of the community being served.
When a medium sized Appalachian town wanted to develop its own service, it named it its "Electronic Village". The fact that Virginia Tech is in that town didn't prevent them from naming it something that fit the town of Blacksburg. In fact, many at VT appreciate the fact of its locale, and they may have had a hand in naming it what they did for that reason.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
Here's the obvious: you mentioned that the community is already calling it "ECFiber". The only difference I might suggest is just calling it ECV instead of just the EC part. Or maybe ECF (?). Whatever you call it, kudos to your community for taking on such a great project!
Mixture of optical and boutique, depending on the local community demographic. Or perhaps "Bran Dex" for a generic hi-fibre network. Or "Wire WeHere" if the value proposition is king. Dunno, I'd be happy with "FRED" (an acronym for "ridiculous electronic device").
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
You almost had it with ECFiber, just change it to EZFiber
Community-Owned Fiber Network
Hmm, need one more F.
Like a spider web or from a spinning wheel
Comfi, for Community Fiber
Community Fiber Easy, and slogan-able. "So ComFibe in us, your community run Fiber Optic leader."
GrassPipe.
Parents has a great idea plus you can expand with it!
VERMONT CommUNITY Network:
Vermont UNITY Network
Other areas could prefix the UNITY network name and you could someday unite on shared projects under one banner: The UNITY networks (which would be useful as a lobby group since that is the ONLY way to deal with gov.)
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
CommOp ?
Glass Commons ?
High Speed Weeds ?
R-Net ? "R" for rural, our
High-R-Net ?
good luck with the project
Tie the concept of this distribution network to the collection networks used to make Vermont's signature product--Maple Syrup. This network will collect Vermonter's ideas and transport them to the Internet. Thus I suggest SugarTap Network because it's familiar sounding, Vermont-related, and understandable as a reasonable analog to a fiber network.
--Kirt
Community Network Neighborhood.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
0wnednet!!!!1!!
VerCom. Or maybe VtCom. I'd do some work on a logo and see what looks good. then pick the name that works best from among several alternatives.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
The australian provider who laid coax back in the day was called Neighborhood Cable, but they're in receivership now (I think). Neighborhood Fibre perhaps?
(ducks)
COFfiN
See what I mean?
yep
Grassroots
Owned
Autonomus
Telco
Fiber
Unified
Communication
System
Public Eastern Central Link
PEACELink
or PEACEnet, or whatever.
Seriously, this is pretty obvious. Are they asleep at the switch over there? They've won the easy acronym lottery.
Being a fan of hipppie jam bands from Burlington, I would name it PhiOS
It's deadly simple!
It should be named COFiN.
Name it Metamunicipal: Get your fiber here.
--
Toro
> covering every remote corner of two-dozen contiguous towns
Big Ole Pancake Splat (BOPS)
ALT
Bit Order-of-magnitude Per Second
Metamunicil
Connections in the network sense and in the social sense.
I think you need to be very careful about managing your future customers' expectations. Most people (non-geeks) would interpret the 'How Fast is Fibre' page as meaning you are promising consistent speeds of ca 30Mb/s to their house. We live in a world where many people want to download their entertainment via ISPs in the form of HD feature films, and contention is becoming a nightmare. namgge
Backwoods Rural Area Network
the title says it all...
Community
Owned
FIber
Network
Now, that was easy, right?
...I'd call the project "Let there be Light".
Vermont Universal Lightspeed Community Access Network
I'd name it Comm-Fi for Community Fibre! :)
It can be made V-Comm-Fi (Vermont CommFi), but I'd like to leave the name open (ie. not make Vermont an integral part of the name) so that the idea can spread beyond Vermont, while preserving the name (and there is a strong relationship between the name and idea behind it!)
shishir
i grew up on a farm outside a very small town in iowa and they spent a ton of money running fiber to everyone's house. its been about 9 years since the install and i haven't seen anything amazing come out of it. cable, phone, and internet run over it but the TV quality is still crappy and the internet is only 10mb. seems like a total waste of perfectly good fiber.
Vermont has colleges, ski resorts like Stowe catering to the northeast, many tourists / skiers from New York, it's 2+ hours from Montreal, and the land and air are fresh enough to raise a family. That's where my sister moved to raise her family and open a restaurant. Ben & Jerry's is there, and Green Mountain Coffee.
You know they have Vermont Fresh Network, there is a big push to use organic ingredients, and most people get along without fiber. It is mostly extremely annoying to other family members when we go visit.
How about VINES. Vermont Independent Network Services. or Vermont Community Internet. Or FreshNet, Community Net, or Green Mountain Networks (GREEN-NET). I don't see a need to limit yourself geographically in the name. If it works well it should spread organically.
Luminet?
From 'Luminous' and 'network'. Luminous because:
1. Fibre Optics works using light
2. The illuminating effect it should hopefully have on the community.
Even comes with a ready made slogan: 'Let there be light'.
Why muck about? Fairly obvious extrapolation of G-PON:
Gigabit
Passive
Rural
Optical
Network
G-PRON! Or G-PORN if you will, but that is just crass.
which is totally what she said
If this works, I'd like to know, how, and get a nice detailed report on it.
I live in rural northern Maine, and I'm lucky to have DSL... There are many many people who are in the same boat as rural vermont, getting 14.4 on a good day.
I would love to see the same type of arrangement expanded
I will not give in to the terrorists. I will not become fearful.
In Soviet Russia, community-owned, cutting-edge, G-PON fiber-optic network covering every remote corner of two-dozen contiguous towns names us!
what do you get when you bind a lot of fibers together - Community Linked Optical To the Home.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
I'd not recommend calling it Fairpoint!
Seriously, if you build it, and it works, you will likely have success beyond your hopes, as neighboring communities clamor for access...
there are 3 kinds of people:
* those who can count
* those who can't
"Roadkill."
Lesson Number 1:
Show some pity for the GIMP.
Never ask a geek to put a name to your project.
Lesson Number 2:
Read Parkinson's Laws.
You are thinking like a committee.
Giving your time to the least important question that needs to be asked and answered.
It is not an unimportant question. It is not an easy question. But it is not the question you should be asking here.
Your project is a complex, expensive, high-risk venture.
Nothing is more important right now than physical proof that you are up to this job..
If you haven't the money to hire a specialist in marketing - someone who knows and understands the rural and small town audience you must reach - you do not belong in this game.
Must be called Lit Hippies.
Take a lesson from Burlington Telecom, and name each segment for the town it runs through. If you need a name for the higher-level structure, use the name of the county or state: Vermont Broadband sounds nice. Fibre-to-the-home is inherently geographic, so using geographic names makes sense.
Breakthrough Overland Optical Network Delivering Optimum Gigabit Grade Local Ethernet.
Call it BOONDOGGLE for short.
Light Pipe Dream
If you are successful, you have to plan for future advances in communications technology, otherwise you will be a dead end. If you fail, it won't matter. Keep the name general and prevent the need to change it when the technology changes.
If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?
I have to admit when I thought of the change in life broad band could bring to rural communities currently stuck on dial-up, I thought
... bringing broad band in the biblical sense to the bible belt
/.
finally, these guys in the stix can get access to the world wide library of FREE porn
but that is totally crass. I'm sure there are useful, meaningful life contributions high speed Internet provides...
well, besides
Fidonet!
9/11 Eyewitnesses to Explosive WTC Demolition 1 of 2
I didn't read all comments to see if this had been suggested, and maybe it's too cutesy or off-point, but it's the first thing that flew into my head thinking of Vermont and a tangle of optical fiber cables ("Vermicelli", if you didn't notice it above in the subject). You're welcome to it, if you want it. Cheers, and best of luck with this ambitious project. I pray it'll be a resounding success that many other communities/regions will try to emulate. Regards.
Ignoring the technical issues of wireless, a big problem with the wireless solution is more of a social issue. People don't mind having buried cable lying around, but they really dislike having wireless towers anywhere in their vicinity. So, wireless is often not a practical solution.
"Community Fiber" could always be shortened to ComFiber or abused to ComFib, bit it indicates the tech and the social mission for the community.
How about "The Peoples' Fiber"? It will probably get you labelled as communists by people without a sense of humor, but that just makes it more funny for you, right?
She makes the web.
I am shocked and offended by your callous disregard for my sensitive constitution sir.
Uber fiber goodness
F.F.S.
Fiber For Shepherds
picked the acronym first, but it still makes good sense:
...
Vermont Advanced Network for Telecommunications Access & Governance for Everyone
obviously...
Commercial partners/lessors would subscribe
to the advertiser supported version, Ad-VANTAGE.
On the other hand, if it's a name for a non-profit kind of network operator, you may just want to
pick a local revolutionary war hero.
Molly Pitcher networks !
Ethan Allen
Green Mountain Boys
or geographical... Green Mountain Neighbourhood
RTFM -- Reach The Fiber Madness!
Why are they using g-pon? The splitters now cost more than a road side fiber switch and the CPE also costs more than 100 FX equipment by a large margin. Sure you have to power the switches but you can get mixed copper/fiber for that and your not far from power lines anyway. A fully switch based network has the advantage that you can go from 100 mb to 10 gb on your existing network without any changes to the fiber.
How about just calling it BotNet. That's what it will become after a few weeks anyway.
Fiber-In-Dialup-Out AKA FIDO Project
CofFiN, obviously.
Problem is, I pronounce "route" to rhyme with "out". I had to think about that one before it worked.
"Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day; set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life
In rural Quebec,just north of Vermont and New York, we are now using modern COPPER to the desktop!
Just check out our Quebec 21st Century Bell Canada Sympatico infractructure! No need for DSLAMS, RSLAMS or any of that high-speed fiber-optic nonsense!
Rurale Quebec truly has an internet setup that can be envied!
CHECK IT OUT HERE!
Caution! English language may be used!
.
- aqk
F U
hey, why not?
Glassroots is a nice play on words, like: Glassroots Community Network, or The Vermont Glassroots Network ...
" Name For a Community-Owned Fiber Network?" COFiN
Growing up my first ISP was SoVerNet https://corp.sover.net/site/, at the time it stood for "Southern Vermont Internet", the area they covered. Later on they changed it to "Vermont's Sovereign Internet Connection". I think at this point they've given up trying to apply meaning to it and it is just a name =]
So, using your purpose or mission as a starting point may be a better strategy than pigeon holing yourself with geography.
It should be "FiberPorn!".
That's what any community network is going to be used mainly for...
It might even keep some regular!
Nobody said you have to use network Bob...