NYCBAC Queens hearing

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New York Broadband Advisory Committee

For more info, see NYC Broadband Advisory Committee.

Queens Public Hearing - Mar 3 2008

01 David Birdsell - Introductoions

  • Neil Pariser
  • Tom Dunn
  • Anthony Townsend
  • David Wicks
  • Wendy Lader
  • Mitchel Ahlbaum

02 Cindy Freidmutter - Welcome 03 Former U.S. Senator Larry Pressler (R-SD)

  • Sen Pressler is author of the 1996 Telecommunications Act

Gale: should e-rate be expanded?

  • Yes. Pressler is working on an article that will recommend that the 1996 act be brought up to date particularly the Snowe-Rockefeller amendments. It's important that the NYCBAC make its concerns known to Washington.

04 Gale Brewer & James Sanders - introductory remarks

  • Work of this Committee is combined with the Economic Development Corp.
  • Technology is fast changing.
  • NYC ahead of the curve compared to other cities.
  • Public participation is vital.

05 Frank Pasquale, Professor, Seton Hall University School of Law (doc)

  • Broadband infrastructure essential to economy.
  • * Digital divide 1) between rich and poor in the USA.
  • Digital Divide 2) between USA and other advanced countries.
  • Government co-investment needed to meet goals.

Gale : How do we achieve goals without federal support?

  • While maintaining net neutrality explore taxation of successful application providers.

06 Joshua Breitbart, Policy Director, Peoples Production House (doc)

  • PPH teaches radio production & media literacy including tech in NYC middle & high schools.
  • New program - Digital Expansion Initiative to educate public on broadband access.
  • Brietbart will submit comments on CD from field interviews with immigrants and others without access to the committee.

Tom: Does PPH work with community access organizations?

  • Community grant funded video project with MNN for high schools on explaining internet technology.

Gale: Vis-a-vis PPH 'Road NYC' program the committee would be glad to meet with immigrants, perhaps with simultaneous translation, to discuss broadband.

  • This could be done. Meetings would not necessarily have to be lengthy.

David: Top two suggestions for improving public engagement on broadband issue?

  • Evening meetings
  • Update website

07 Takeshi Utsumi, PhD, Global University System / Columbia University

  • 35 years experience in internetworking
  • creating Global University System with HQ in Tampere, Finland
  • Japan & Korea way ahead of USA - consumers pay $50/mth for 100-160 mbps,
  • While Brooklyn Poly/Columbia U. have 100mbps - major Japanese Universities have 100gbps & local universities have 1gbps
  • There is a 1.3 tera bps connection between Japan and Siberia
  • a 2 tera bps is being promulgated between Japan and Africa, with Japan Gov, finance $10-20 billion
  • Asian Development Bank is developing a fibre super highway alomg the old Silk Road.
  • NYC should be a dynamic information center, yet Prof. Utsumi has 10mbps which drops to 5mpbs via Time Warner.
  • NYC ought to devise at least a 1 terabit trunkline throughout 5 boroughs then implement free wireless access.
  • Education software is becoming free, the connection needs to also be free.
  • Mere multimedia content capability is not sufficient - applications like videoconferencing, collaborative engineering simulations need more bandwidth

Anthony: Is the city at a disadvantage for attracting scientific research because of bandwidth deficiency?

  • Yes. When Prof. Utsumi started there was only one other computer the equivalent of Brooklyn Poly. While everyone else has progressed Brooklyn Poly has stayed the same.

Gale: Should the national government spend billions of dollars like other countries?

  • Prof. Utsumi has been working with Finland. Finland is #1 on vocational training. The first thing to spend money on is education in K12.

Neil: What in particular is effect of lack of bandwidth on Brooklyn Poly?

  • With 1gbps students can work on virtual reality, collaborative 3d modeling, on a global scale. Educational video needs to be of high quality.

08 Computers For Youth Bill Rappel, National Director for the Affiliate Network.

  • 3 students that are testifying are from I.S.204.
  • CFY promotes a rich home learning environment in partnership with schools.
  • CFY's programs select middle school and provides every 6th grader with computer w/ standalone educational software.
  • Going forward software will increasingly require broadband access.

Rema McCoy, Student Software Team Manager

  • Student volunteers participate in Saturday sessions evaluating educational software
  • All three students testifying are participants in the program.
  • Increasingly submitted software requires online connectivity so, thus this year, via co-operation with cable operators, all participants have received free broadband.

Samuel Fok, I.S. 204 student

  • All students should have fast and inexpensive internet at home, helps with research and do home work faster and on time.
  • Time is wasted waiting for access at the library. One of Sam's projects got deleted.
  • Video material in particular needs broadband.

Nadia Betancor, I.S. 204

  • All students should have fast and inexpensive internet at home, it gives you information at your fingertips.
  • It helps you find out what is happening in other parts of the world.
  • Internet access is a useful and important research resource for school projects.
  • Home access is easier, quieter, more enjoyable, comfortable, and relaxing.
  • Home access saves time and having to walk to the library (although walking is good exercise).
  • Nadia also does research for her family, and is able to help her brother and her sister with their homework.

Daisy Garcia, I.S. 204

  • All students should have fast and inexpensive internet at home, kids need it to do research for their homework.
  • With home access, it is possible explore freely without the pressure of time limits or worries of losing data.

Mitchel: Where do you learn how to use the internet?

  • Daisy: School
  • Samuel: Parents
  • Nadia: School

Gale: Do other kids in your class have Internet at home? How much help is it at school if you have it at home?

  • Sam: Many kids have dial-up, but only one in 27 in his class had dsl o. Some web-pages use a lot of a memory and it makes projects slow. A project that takes a day on broadband can take a week on dial-up.
  • Nadia: Not everyone. They have to go to the library. Home access would be a big help.
  • Daisy: Only a few have cable Internet. Home access is much faster than going to the library.

Neil: What was the last project you needed internet for, and for which library access was insufficient.

  • Daisy. Black History Month. Thurgood Marshall.
  • Nadia. Same project. In the library sometimes they won't have a book on the person you have been assigned, while on the computer you just type in the name and the information comes up.
  • Samuel. Has been working for some time on a Science Fair project. Researching information on the human nervous system. With dial-up progress was slow. Now with broadband, project is almost finished.

Neil: Have you given up going to the library now that you have internet?

  • Sam: Not given up, but the 35 minutes it takes for him to walk to the library he can work on his project.
  • Daisy: Still goes to the library for books.
  • Nadia: likes reading, and takes her brother and sister so they can increase their reading skills.

David Wicks: With home access do parents get involved in school projects?

  • Daisy: Yes. Leads to conversation.
  • Nadia: Yes. Parents make helpful suggestions.
  • Samuel: Yes. Dad checks that he's focused.

Wendy: Do your parents know how to go online?

  • Sam: Parents know how to go online, but need help.
  • Daisy: is teaching her parents. Dad is getting the hang of it.
  • Nadia: helps her Mom.

Wendy: Are there any studies on the percentage of broadband usership amongst CFY participants?

  • Bill: will forward information to the Committee.

Wendy: Is CFY providing broadband for other schools?

  • Bill: apart from software evaluators at I.S.204. there is a pilot program with Cablevision in The Bronx where all CFY families are provided with 8 hours of free access - they can then elect to sign up for dial-up at $9/month, payable with check or money order.

Wendy: Was it successful? Will it be expanded?

  • Bill: Too early to say. While many families were already signed up for triple-play, among the rest many were reluctant to sign up at all for reasons that are not clear.

David Wicks: Website?

David: Nadia, how has home access changed tutoring your brother and sister?

  • Nadia: Instead of going to the library, I can just access the information.

Davis: Do your friends come over to use your broadband?

  • Sam: Not really.
  • Daisy: No.
  • Nadia: Yes. A friend comes over to do her projects.

09 Scott Wolpow - IT professional http://www.publiccto.com/

  • Hearing could be streamed live?
  • Concerns with access providers:
    • Net Neutrality - restricting access infringes first amendment rights
    • Throttled bandwidth - ditto, and while occasionally justifiable should be fully disclosed
    • Blocked ports - limit parents ability to to monitor children, VOIP, smart refrigerators and other innovative applications, often is undisclosed
    • Undisclosed real speeds.
    • Arbitrary data transfer limits.

Anthony: Are these behaviors inhibiting New Yorkers ability to develop new projects and services?

  • 100%. Yes.

10 Daniel Dragan - broadband customer

  • Lack of competition - extremely difficult for new players.
  • Access via Libraries - valuable free resource
  • Internet cafe's - cheap alternative
  • Lack of middle ground between consumer and business class connections.
  • Municipal broadband fails because it overestimates potential customers and is uncompetitive
  • Universal servioce band. Should fund broadband access.
  • Internet speeds are not increasing.
  • Looks forward to the day when entire world is a global LAN
  • dsl access is not available in all parts of the city
  • Resellers are ill served by broadband providers
  • Small businesses can be hit with big line charges to install commercial grade access
  • Industrial parks being a particular example.

Wendy: Which industrial parks?

  • Brooklyn Navy Yards

Wendy: I think that's been remedied.

11 Bruce Lincoln - Urban Cyberspace initiative

  • Involved in a pilot project in Harlem to develop technology entrepreneurship community centers in the NYCHA properties.
  • In the information age all citizens need 1) access 2) training, and 3) services.
  • Recently attended 'State of the Internet' and 'Future of Broadband' conferences and was surprised to find goal was liomited to 10mbps to 100mbps.
  • For immersive distance-learning and telemedicine apps symmetric bandwidth in the 1gbps range is imperative.
  • Incumbents have little interest in radical redevelopment of their networks, particularly in underserved markets.
  • Metroscale Regional Cyberspace Initiatives (MERCI) is a hybrid fiber/wireless model developed at MIT.
  • Apart from social benefits the MERCI model is designed to break even financially in 36 months.
  • MERCI is undergoing tests in several communities including Harlem, & Jackson Mississippi.

Gale: What is necessary for ubiquitous coverage?

  • Long term agreement with municipality
  • Using incumbent redundant fiber.
  • Access to city's assets. Towers, lightposts, etc.
  • In Jackson backhaul provided by Entergy
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