Book details of 'The First 100 Feet: Options for Internet and Broadband Access'

Title	The First 100 Feet: Options for Internet and Broadband Access
Author(s)	Deborah Hurley, James H. Keller
ISBN	0262581604
Language	English
Published	July 1999
Publisher	MIT Press

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The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'The First 100 Feet: Options for Internet and Broadband Access':

Reviewer amazon.com wrote:
Historically, the problem of connecting communications providers' neighborhood substations with individual subscribers' homes and offices has been called the "last mile problem," or the challenge of the last 100 feet. In The First 100 Feet: Options for Internet and Broadband Access, a group of authors turns the problem around, presenting it as an obstacle to be solved and financed from the bottom up (by non-telecommunications businesses, communities of homeowners, and individuals) rather than from the top down (by telecommunications companies). In discussing the problem in a series of assembled articles, the authors explain the relative merits--both economic and, to a lesser degree, technical--of various connectivity solutions. They cover cable modems, satellite dishes, dedicated-line services like Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), cellular technologies, and fiber optics. The First 100 Feet employs rather academic writing styles throughout, and it's rife with charts and endnotes. Some of the economic data presented is fascinating: technology adoption trends are explained by comparing the cost of a phone call in 1947 (and its subsequent decline) with the cost of a personal computer between 1985 and 1998. There's also valuable advice on how the institutions that affect our lives--including local governments and utility companies--might adapt to compete in the coming connected world.
Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
This book suggests that one can take the problem of the "last 100 feet," the drop from the telecommunications infrastructure or physical roadside curb to the home or small business, and turn it around to see some kind of business opportunity. Certainly it is plain that there is a growing demand for higher bandwidth to the end nodes of the network, but the collection of articles here presents no new business ideas, and seems to have grasped only the tip of the technical iceberg. Part one looks at market factors for these access services. Chapter one suggests that consumers provide the drop themselves, but never really examines the idea. A number of technical and business terms related to the last mile are listed and semi-defined in chapter two, but without significant analysis. Chapter three asks, but never answers, the question of whether consumers will be willing to pay for access. Part two looks at options for consumers to provide their own last mile connections. Chapter four looks at spread spectrum radio communications, but doesn't delve into the areas of node connection or mass installation. Essentially the same material is repeated in chapter five. Chapter six tries to appear technically oriented in a review of power line data transmission, but is somewhat behind the curve. Satellite options are discussed in chapter seven, but the text does not deal with the last mile at all, and does not use any data from the Iridium system which is now finally operating. Part three opines on the chances of non-traditional service providers. Chapter eight is a meandering and unfocussed look at municipally based networks. The next two papers suggest that electrical utilities should be interested in becoming access providers, chapter nine being less convincing than eight. Chapter ten talks about one specific experience with a municipal network. Overall, the essays collected into this work seem to have been compiled by enthusiasts with limited technical knowledge who seem to think they are onto something new. While reasonably up to date, none of the proposals, if there are any beyond "we need more studies," are startlingly original. All of the business or technical models are variations on existing hierarchical patterns rather than true community paradigms that might be derived from, say, extensions of the dynamic routing model proven by the Internet married to a wireless technology. For those who have not been following the last mile activities, this book does provide an introduction to some of the topics in the field, but it paints neither a complete nor an original picture. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1999
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Book description:

The growth of the Internet has been propelled in significant part by user investment in infrastructure: computers, internal wiring, and the connection to the Internet provider. This "bottom-up" investment minimizes the investment burden facing providers. New technologies such as wireless and data transmission over power lines, as well as deregulation of telecommunications and electric utilities, will provide new opportunities for user investment in intelligent infrastructure as leverage points for Internet and broadband access. Recasting the "problem of the last 100 feet" as "the opportunity of the first 100 feet," this book challenges individuals, businesses, and policymakers to rethink fundamental issues in telecommunications policy. The contributors look at options for Internet and broadband access from the perspective of homeowners, apartment complexes, and small businesses. They evaluate the opportunities and obstacles for bottom-up infrastructure development and the implications for traditional and alternative providers at the neighborhood, regional, and national levels. Already, some argue that Internet service will become the common denominator platform on which all other services can be carried. A Publication of the Harvard Information Infrastructure Project.