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29 Universities Seek High-Speed Networks

Posted by Soulskill on from the streaming-lectures-versus-movie-torrents dept.

An anonymous reader sends this quote from USA Today: "The University of Missouri announced Wednesday it is joining an effort by some of the country's top colleges to build 'ultra' high-speed data networks in their local communities. The project is known as Gig.U: The University Community Next Generation Innovation Project. The 29 participating schools include Arizona State, Duke, Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Florida and Wake Forest University. The Aspen Institute, a Colorado-based nonprofit, initiated the effort. The schools and their local partners will solicit proposals from telecommunications companies in their area. They hope to quickly build high-speed broadband networks in communities with low unemployment and heavy demand for such services."

42 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. I have a better idea. by scottbomb · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Lower your damn tuition.

    1. Re:I have a better idea. by Americium · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Because over $100 billion in Federal student loans are given out each year for those tuitions, and it's only going up. So the taxpayer is on the hook for those government guaranteed loans, and it's the reason why Universities can keep increasing tuition.

      I also don't see why you would need 1Gbit, 15mbit streams 1080p already. I really don't need anything faster and I can't think of anything that would.

    2. Re:I have a better idea. by brian1078 · · Score: 2

      I really don't need anything faster and I can't think of anything that would.

      PORN! Lots and lots of porn. Multiple screens.

    3. Re:I have a better idea. by Americium · · Score: 1

      3d 1080p porn too

    4. Re:I have a better idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Federal student loans are the biggest reason for extremely high tuition rates. The universities gain near perfect price discrimination by looking over an applicant's financials and charging them the most they can possibly afford. If rates were low, then students might actually benefit by getting an education for less than they were willing to pay. By keeping rates high the university makes every student pay the maximum of what they are willing and lets the federal government pay the remainder for even more profit.

    5. Re:I have a better idea. by guruevi · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Because the average Internet connection in the US (and most cities including this one) is 3Mbps, not 15. Also to spur innovation and economy (as online business is booming, except in the US where it's less time consuming to DRIVE in my government sponsored car to RedBox than streaming it).

      Loans get payed back with interest, no worries about a mere 100B when at least 10x that amount gets spent yearly on unnecessary military campaigns and another identical amount trying to keep old people alive that can't afford a private insurance as there is no public health care option.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    6. Re:I have a better idea. by Americium · · Score: 1

      I get 15mbit to my house and it's only throttled to 11 during heavy use hours if i've been using all 15 for an extended period of time. Campuses don't distribute 15mbit across the campus, that would be insanely slow. They are talking about 1gbit to every user/household, which i can't think of any use for.

    7. Re:I have a better idea. by Americium · · Score: 1

      That's just one fed student loan program, 65% of students have loans. And 100B per year is about the cost of both wars. Obama just reduced the time til the loans go into default to 15 years, so not only will students be bankrupted by the high tuition rates, the taxpayers will also lose money.

    8. Re:I have a better idea. by Americium · · Score: 1

      All of new england and most of the east coast has 15 available if they want it, there's just no need or want for it. I live in central Maine and it's available here. 3mbit already streams dvd quality anyway. When the cost per household for the midwest is over $200,000 it's cheaper to build a new house than to wire them up. 4G will blanket most of the US soon enough, so why waste the money.

    9. Re:I have a better idea. by ThePangolino · · Score: 1

      Nobody needs more than 640KiB of RAM. --Gates.

      FTFY

      --
      My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.
    10. Re:I have a better idea. by supercrisp · · Score: 1

      Lower tuition is a great idea. But how do you manage that when, for the last thirty years, enrollments have increased and funding has dropped from state, federal, and private sources? Higher enrollment isn't the only expense, though it's a big one because it tends to mean new buildings too. Since the 80s schools have had to spend more and more on staff and infrastructure for the information technology boom. Then add to that the things that universities have done to themselves. Some examples of that: the trend toward hiring lots and lots of expensive administrators; courting students with all sorts of expensive frills like free cable in the dorms and protection money paid to the RIAA and MPAA to keep students from being Jammie Thomased. Of course, anyone who likes the parent post probably doesn't care much about the value of research (oh the irony of the 'net user being a libertarian), so we could just eliminate all that.

    11. Re:I have a better idea. by supercrisp · · Score: 1

      I can think of many uses that need high speed networking. And most of them are for businesses that might be enticed into a local economy. And of course there's the stated intention of research. So part of these projects is examining what people can come up with in a community if they're given high-speed networking. Sometimes you have to think outside the basement.

    12. Re:I have a better idea. by Americium · · Score: 1

      You didn't mention a single use for it.

    13. Re:I have a better idea. by guruevi · · Score: 1

      You seriously have no idea about the technical aspects of this do you. YOU may not see a need or want for it as you only seem to need Fox News and affiliated blogging sites but I see a serious need beyond my current capacity.

      I am CONTINUOUSLY using over 5Mbps in streaming services and downloads already and I regularly fill my 10Mbps cap and then I don't even have kids that use computers yet. I pay over $150 for this privilege, I can upgrade to a 15Mbps burst for another $50 but that is it before I need to go to a business level for roughly double that price tag.

      Companies in my area doing research, downloading large data sets need serious bandwidth beyond the 20-30Mbps available to them. 100Mbps is a minimum in this new world and having it available at the current rates ($100/month) would simply make it possible for more applications to be developed more economically.

      4G as currently implemented in the US is a joke. The EU has faster 3G than the fastest 4G. We have it available here too (Clearwire) but 1Mbps tops and 300ms ping time is unacceptable and as soon as you move beyond the city limits it becomes unavailable.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    14. Re:I have a better idea. by guruevi · · Score: 1

      For the 2010 fiscal year, the president's base budget of the Department of spending on "overseas contingency operations" $663.8 billion. Overall the budget has over 1.1 trillion dollars set aside for direct military spending not to talk about the indirect costs and during the republican rule this was 1.6 trillion dollars.

      The US spends roughly 5% of GDP, 50% of tax revenue on military spending, roughly 6x the amount that a militaristic country like China spends. Off course that is what the tea baggers want: less spending but don't cut any of the services and increase military spending so we can feel safe.

      Did you know the US still has operations and bases in Germany and other places in Europe to keep the Nazi's from taking over?

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    15. Re:I have a better idea. by Bengie · · Score: 1

      " And 100B per year is about the cost of both wars"

      The one war alone cost over 3 trillion. That's 30 years at 100B/year. Last I checked, it started after 9/11/2001, not back in the 1980's

      Even if they were the same, guess which one has a return on investment?

      Six years ago, back when I was in college, my poli-sci teacher showed us an interesting thing. He added up the average cost for insurance people in the USA pay, and he added up the average cost of college. The amount of money we spent on the war(9/11) in those four years was enough to give free health care and college(for those of college age) to every person in the USA for 10 years.

      That didn't include the cost of long term care for our wounded vets or the other hundreds of billions in budgeted costs.

      I say we just make education free, give everyone health care and stop having a war. It would actually save us money immediately and eventually save us more long term money because of less health care overhead and better jobs.

    16. Re:I have a better idea. by level_headed_midwest · · Score: 1

      No kidding, MU's tuition has gotten seriously high as of late. I guess all of those fake trees in the rec center were much more expensive than I thought...

      --
      Just "gittin-r-done," day after day.
    17. Re:I have a better idea. by Americium · · Score: 1

      Yea I know and as I stated before both wars are costing around $100 billion per year. The whole point of taxes is for the military, that's why we have an income tax. I thought tea party activists were for lowering military spending but having it account for a larger percentage of government spending.

    18. Re:I have a better idea. by Americium · · Score: 1

      Well maybe if the state you are in allowed Time Warner to lay down some copper and fiber you too would be getting 15mbit for less than $40/month.

    19. Re:I have a better idea. by Americium · · Score: 1

      I don't know where you got 3 trillion but both wars combined have so far cost just over 1 trillion, for the whole 10 years we have been there. So just one Fed student loan program costs the same, nevermind free tuition for all or healthcare. Just medicare was over $600 billion in 2008, that's 6 times both wars. Apparently your poli science teacher didn't understand math at all.

  2. One word... by ELCouz · · Score: 1

    PORN!

  3. Needed by Darkness404 · · Score: 1

    This is needed more than most people think. In a lot of college towns, ISPs are terrible and in some of the smaller towns there isn't any 3G to speak of. And the same problem persists even in medium-sized state schools which have a moderately to large sized computer science program.

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
  4. For business only? by schwnj · · Score: 1

    I was initially excited by this as I thought I might be able to get in on it -- however, this looks to be more along the lines of a business partnership (i.e., businesses can pay for the fiber, and the universities will provide the net access.

    1. Re:For business only? by Penguinshit · · Score: 1

      My local ISP, cruzio.com, has a similar deal with UC Santa Cruz. It has worked nicely as our DSL speeds are tripling. Cruzio is also expanding the fiber link around the Monterey Bay.

      --

      I have something in common with Stephen Hawking...

  5. List of Members by chazchaz101 · · Score: 3, Informative
    From: http://www.gig-u.org/
    • Arizona State University
    • Case Western Reserve University
    • Colorado State University
    • Duke University
    • George Mason University
    • Howard University
    • Indiana University
    • Michigan State University
    • North Carolina State University
    • Penn State University
    • University of Alaska
    • University of Chicago
    • University of Florida
    • University of Hawaii
    • University of Illinois
    • University of Kentucky
    • University of Louisville
    • University of Maryland
    • University of Michigan
    • University of Missouri
    • University of Montana
    • University of New Mexico
    • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    • University of South Florida
    • University of Virginia
    • University of Washington
    • Virginia Tech
    • Wake Forest University
    • West Virginia University
  6. I have an even better idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    How about we figure out how to start making things again, instead of being a purely information and service society and outsourcing to China for our hard goods? What good is a high speed wire if there is no one who has an income to purchase it?

    1. Re:I have an even better idea. by chill · · Score: 1

      We know how to make them now, it is just cheaper to outsource the low-skill labor necessary. No, people as a whole will not pay the major extra costs associated with "Made in America" for mass produced goods.

      Fantasize all you want about bringing mass manufacturing back to the United States, but it is gone for good. It is time to face reality. The future of America is in creativity and brains, not low-skilled labor.

      If you can do your job with a pair of headphones on, listening to music and not thinking about your work -- your job is going away. If you aren't using your brain for the main part of your job, it is going away or will be so low-paying no one wants it.

      Labor that has to be performed locally, such as construction or transportation, will eventually be replaced by robots and automated labor systems.

      --
      Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
    2. Re:I have an even better idea. by couchslug · · Score: 1

      We DO make billions of dollars of hard goods. We DON'T need vast amounts of unskilled laborers to do that.

      The idea that most of any population should have good jobs is historically absurd. Americans have been so conditioned by the Bubble Economy they forget bubbles burst and take years to be replaced with different bubbles.

      I spent the good times preparing for the inevitable bad times. This isn't the last Recession or Depression, so don't dare take security for granted even after things improve.

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
    3. Re:I have an even better idea. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      The idea that most of any population should have good jobs is historically absurd

      There are those who would say that the plan is to reduce the population considerably... And then the above goal becomes achievable.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  7. super high speed connections by nurb432 · · Score: 2

    With super low use caps..

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  8. Umm, no by FranTaylor · · Score: 2

    "bringing mass manufacturing back to the United States, but it is gone for good."

    Do you study history AT ALL? Do you see the trend in the dollar's value? Do I need to continue?

    Better yet, why not visit an American car dealership and examine the merchandise.

    1. Re:Umm, no by chill · · Score: 1

      The American automotive industry is slowly but inexorably moving towards increased automation through robotics. The number of human workers per automobile has done nothing but decline in recent decades.

      I study history quite a bit. Feel free to look at the British Pound for a good example of where the US Dollar is likely to head.

      The Dollar will not sink low enough to make US labor competitive for mass market goods. Even in a scenario of hyper-inflation, it won't happen. Look at how Germany ended up after the hyper-inflation of the Wiemar Republic. (Hint: Hyper-inflation only lasts for a very brief time and if the country itself is basically sound -- and the U.S. is -- it'll bounce back quickly.)

      --
      Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
  9. It will by FranTaylor · · Score: 1

    Creating more prosperity and a bigger tax base WILL lower the tuition.

    1. Re:It will by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      the teabagger panacea... one has nothing to do with the other, btw. go lick my laffer-curve.

  10. Gig 'Em by ISoldat53 · · Score: 1

    Texas A&M's version uses barbed wire.

  11. Low unemployment? What? by IceFoot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "in communities with low unemployment"

    What the heck does low unemployment have to do with super high speed access?

  12. what? by jsprenkle · · Score: 1

    >They hope to quickly build high-speed broadband networks in communities with low unemployment and heavy demand for such services So they're getting into the telecom business? And they expect the people they will compete with to build it for them? I smell agenda... uh uh... money... uh uh... opportunity! Yeah! That's it.

    --
    - I've got bad karma because I won't parrot everyone else's opinion
  13. Hopefully Different by bky1701 · · Score: 1

    Hopefully it won't be horribly overtaxed, logged, tracked, and badly structured like most campus internet services. I actually trust the telcos more than I do universities when it comes to running a proper network.

    --
    Great Intellect...
  14. Re:Low unemployment? What? by couchslug · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Those communities can pay for it and have valid uses for it such as telecommuting.

    There is little return in providing broadband for the ghetto or trailer park. They already have television.

    --
    "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
  15. That's the craziest thing I've ever read by kelemvor4 · · Score: 2

    Universities don't even make movies, why should they need sufficient bandwidth to seed?

  16. Think about it thought... by rrossman2 · · Score: 1

    Where do you find the best prices on stuff? Online, not in the store.. the in store prices are higher (except Circuit City before they closed up.. the last year or so they had the same price in all stores and on the web).

    How are a lot of services done now? Online. The yellow pages here no long publish people's phone numbers (mostly because of people switching numbers, moving, and the biggest.. cell phones). So if I want to find someone's number now, it's either 611 or (local exchange + 5252 or whatever) if people even know/remember about those options anymore.. otherwise it's check online to see if they have a land line and if it's listed.

    Finding business? Yes, you can look in the "phone book" if you have one or haven't lost it, but again online.

    Online classes are cheaper and you can do at your own pace, good for single parents or those who work a full time job or more.

    Now could they use standard, cheap DSL to do all this? Yes, but I think by the Universities helping out the local ISP's by providing the higher speeds, it's more of an incentive to expand into these areas and help customers who normally couldn't afford it

  17. I told you so. by chill · · Score: 1

    I'm sorry. This opportunity doesn't come along very often, so I need to exploit it now.

    The current front-page article here on /. titled "Foxconn To Employ 1 Million Robots" screams LISTEN TO CHILL on this thread. :-)

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.