Thursday, April 30, 2015

Updating History with Gigabit Internet


Chicago’s Automatic Lofts may be old, but that’s doesn’t mean it can’t be cutting edge. The 482-unit student community on Chicago’s West Side is housed in the old Automatic Electric Company building, which originally opened in 1910 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Recently purchased in a joint venture between Atlanta-based JMG Realty and New York-based Empire Square Group, the building will now get gigabit Internet and Wi-Fi to each individual unit, according to Commercial Property Executive. Now that’s an historical upgrade. Read the full article here.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Project Fi Gives Google Juice to Cellular Over WiFi

Cellular over WiFi just got a big boost with Google’s announcement of Project Fi. The initiative pairs the world’s largest search company with the Sprint and T Mobile networks, and marks Google’s first large-scale foray into wireless. For just $20 a month, invited Nexus 6 users can sign up for the phone and data service, which will credit back unused data each month, a shot across the bow of incumbent cellular providers. But while the announcement got plenty of attention yesterday, and was first reported in the Wall Street Journal, one important aspect got shorter shrift  in most news coverage: the technology will automatically, and easily, switch between cellular and WiFi for calls and data. That aspect alone could be a game-changer for cellular in general, as established companies will eventually need to answer Google's call. Read Bloomberg’s take on the announcement here.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Broadband, Competition and the American Way

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler threw down the gauntlet at the Broadband Communities Summit in Austin this week, challenging large-scale incumbent Internet providers to do more to offer higher-speed access to all Americans. He cited the 20 percent of Americans who still have “no choice” to get wired, broadband Internet at their homes. Pressing forward with a rallying cry of “competition, competition, competition,” he defended his agency’s recent moves to enforce net neutrality, even as large-scale incumbents have jockeyed to block those moves in court, according to BroadbandBreakfast. Read the full article here.  

Monday, April 13, 2015

Gigafying the MDU


For those of you arriving early to the 2015 Broadband Communities Summit in Austin this week, make sure to check out InfiniSys CEO Richard Holtz as he leads a free workshop on gigafying the MDU. Apartment operators will learn what it takes to wire a community to accommodate cord-cutters, work-at-home professionals and even 4K TV watchers. The all-star panel of speakers includes representatives from XFINITY Communities, Tellabs, AT&T Connected Communities and more. The billing promises “no holds barred,” with experts available to answer your toughest questions. Look for signs for Workshop #3. Starts at 2 pm CDT April 13.

Wednesday, April 01, 2015

Gigabit fiber to my apartment? Please and thank you!

Residents at Dayton’s newest downtown apartment community, Water Street Flats, will soon have something folks in more urbane locales would die for – gigabit fiber in their apartments. That’s 1,000 mbps, or 40 times faster than the FCC’s recently upgraded definition of broadband Internet, and will be able to handle 4K streaming video (or 8K, for that matter) with ease. The fiber is being laid by Dayton-based Extra Mile Fiber, which is openly aping the Google Fiber business model to provide lightning quick connectivity in its hometown, according to this article in the Dayton Daily News. Way to go, Ohio!