Since August of 2008 we have had 5 different Verizon Business sales representatives assigned to our account – not to be confused with our stead-fast team from Verizon Core – Verizon Business sales teams, all of which came down to our facility to “evaluate” our requirements, one after the next… and guess what, now we have a new Verizon Sales team working on our solution. It is very simple, we have a 1.5G fiber line run from our studio over to Azzurro, it is an FCC regulated “tarif” line that is approved for SDI HD/SD video/audio but what we need is a product that will allow us to use that line for “mixed” content – meaning we need to send “data” in addition to the SDI video, IP labeled packets of data into a Business network that we can control and dial in and out of as we see fit…
The fiber is installed and connected to our HUB, yet we still can not “legally” use it to pass along data in addition to the SDI HD/SD video/audio that we can currently receive and transmit. The thing is, back in the day these units had an additional “Ethernet 10/100” RJ45 jack in the back that broadcaster could just plug into, albeit an illegal use, but they could. The line is just sitting there with its glorious 1.5G’s just waiting to light up. But, as it turns out the manufacturer no longer makes the units with that additional RJ45 jack… only SDI can plug into it, not that I would even think about hijacking bandwidth like that anyway… but it would have been an interesting experiment in the lab. Regardless, it is a step back not forward as we think about how independent broadcasters would have the freedom to transmit and receive video, either as a digital SDI or as a bunch of data packets…
But the point is, if the bandwidth is there, just sitting there, why can’t we send packets without having to switch services to something where we are charged for bandwidth on a line that is just sitting there anyway? I know why, the question is rhetorical. Because the FCC hasn’t approved that line for mixed use. But, for accessibility to broadband and usage for all, why should a line that is completely unburdened by traditional ISP, a line that carries a dedicated site-to-site “feed” have regulations on the use of that bandwidth?
It’s not good for this country, it’s not good for business and it sucks for me.
Discovery” can be an arduous process to say the least – 100’s of hours have been spent on conference calls defining the vision of our Broadcast & Streaming Media ecosystem, how it works, the business case for it, the requirements set forth by our core clientele and how we plan to build and manage it. After yet another series of head-banging “discovery” sessions, we have opted to go a more cryptic route, bringing more “partners” in to fill niche services using “Semantic” applications that scale based on bandwidth usage and requirements. It could have been so simple, but it will be at least a year before the FCC takes action on this issue regarding the tariff lines – I heard an unconfirmed rumor that ABC may have a case with the FCC for a mixed use line – but alas,that is just a rumor and heck yeah I am spreading it!
Signing off, this is Nico having just spewed out a full months of frustration on you, oh avid reader… thank you and good day.