Tag Archive for Business

| June 9, 2008
Comments Off on City First in Mich for Broadband Over Powerlines

City First in Mich for Broadband Over Powerlines

City First in Mich for Broadband Over PowerlinesFrom Hometownlife.com Grand Ledge Michigan is the first city first in the state to get broadband over powerlines. A New York company is opening an office in the city to be the first in Michigan to offer broadband access to the Internet over power lines.  The high-speed system will be available to the city’s businesses and residents in early to late spring.

The service will be offered by David Shpigler, president of the Shpigler Group, a consulting firm that specializes in advising utility companies. The company is changing directions and is becoming more of a service supplier. The launch of the technology is one of many similar business ventures around the country.  Grand Ledge was selected to be the first place to deploy broadband over powerlines technology because it is centrally located and because it is served by Consumers Energy. “This is a commercial venture. We are also considering expanding to St. Johns and then evaluating it before launching the service in the rest of the state,” Shpigler said.

“We are working with vendors to be able to have the latest and greatest technology and be able to offer the fastest speeds,” Shpigler said. BPL technology allows a broadband signal to travel on a power line and connect computers to the Internet. A customer connects to the service using a special modem inserted in an electrical outlet instead of to a telephone line or to a cable wire. The company will have a local office at 203 S. Bridge St. in downtown Grand Ledge.

The cost to residential customers is expected to be $29.99 monthly, Shpigler said. Higher speeds and additional services will also be made available to local businesses on a “built-to-suit” basis, Shpigler said. Shpigler said a name for the service has not yet been selected.

He is partnering with Consumers Energy and will play an active role in promoting Broadband Over Powerlines in Michigan. Several similar systems are in operation across the country. BPL technology is widely used in Europe.

Shpigler, who is a well-known speaker on telecommunications issues around the country. He first introduced the service last November to the Grand Ledge Area Chamber of Commerce. He said future applications of BPL may include telephones, home security, medical alert, and Web hosting.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| November 8, 2007
Comments Off on IT Security Statistics

IT Security Statistics

IT Security Statistics

CompTIA has recently reported new IT security statistics. They say that the number of IT security breaches is down but the level of severity is up. In their survey, CompTIA found that the average cost of a security breach across all companies surveyed was $368,288. This number was driven by a number of firms that estimated their costs over $10 million. Approximately half of the respondents estimated that the cost of an IT security breach was $10,000 or less.

These firms broke down their costs of security breaches:

  • Employee productivity affected – 35%
  • Server or network downtime – 21%
  • Revenue-generating activities changed – 20%
  • Physical assets impacted – 17%
  • Legal fees and/or fines – 8%

(Wireless Week, October 15, 2007, p. 38)

 

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| August 14, 2007
Comments Off on Never Say Never to Broadband over Powerline

Never Say Never to Broadband over Powerline

GigaOm is reporting that LA-based utility.net, broadband over powerline (BPL) network provider, will begin deploying BPL in the Lansing, Michigan area. The BPL rollout will be in cooperation with Consumers Energy. Consumers recently completed a pilot project with Shpigler Group which initially deployed a BPL network to 10,000 homes in and around the city of Grand Ledge, Michigan.

The first phase of the broadband over powerline deployment is expected to be operational by the end of 2007. Consumers Energy will grant utility.net additional service areas in blocks of 100,000 customers in the coming years. Within several years, utility.net expects to reach one million Michigan residents with broadband over the powerline.

utility.net will assume full responsibility for the network and business model. The company will partner with one or more Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The ISPs will manage the relationship with the end customer. Utility.net will initially offer three symmetrical broadband over powerline service levels, 768 Kbps, 1.5 Mbps, and 3 Mbps.

Consumers Energy provides electric and natural gas service to 6.5 million residents of Michigan.

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| April 27, 2007
Comments Off on Low Voltage Cable Costs Rising

Low Voltage Cable Costs Rising

Updated – 03-05-08 – Military tensions in South America are driving the costs of copper and oil up even more.

Low Voltage Cable Costs RisingLast year, there was a large jump in copper telecom cable costs as manufacturers passed along raw material price increases in copper and petroleum. These price increases have affected all wire and cable products including plenum and non-plenum products; Cat 3, Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6a, multi-pair cables, outside plant cables, and all low voltage electronic wire. Despite a market correction at the end of 2006, copper and petroleum prices used to manufacture cable are headed up again-meaning copper telecom cable will be following suit soon.

[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]The fundamental cause for increasing copper telecom cables is the continuing global demand for copper and petroleum. China and Asia lead the demand for Copper. The U.S. demand is for copper is down due to the collapsing housing market, however, if the U.S. housing market ever takes off again, more demand pressure will drive copper prices higher.

China which is the world’s largest consumer of copper accounting for 20% of the world’s supply imported 61% more copper in March 2007 than in March of 2006. The U.S. consumes 13% of the world’s copper. Demand for copper has reduced the worldwide supply of available copper to less than four days of global use.

[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]The upward pressure on copper telecom cables will follow technological globalization. The per capita demand for copper rises as GDP per capita rises. BaseMetals.com indicates that Japan consumes around 12kg per capita, North America consumers around 10kg per capita, and Europe around 9kg per capita. The large populations of China, India, Eastern Europe and South America are consuming less than 2kg per capita.

WTI crude oil pricesIn addition to copper price pressure, the cost of oil also impacts telecom cable prices. George Bush’s war in Iraq and declining world oil production have led to price increases in gasoline and petrochemicals such as PVC resins and polyethylene which are derivatives of crude oil and used in the manufacture of telecom cables. Escalating crude oil prices have also increased transportation costs leading to increased freight charges and other transportation costs across the value chain.

The dual price pressures of copper and petroleum will continue to push up the cost of all cabling.

Related articles
  • BT denies it is sitting on a ‘copper mine’ worth £50bn (telegraph.co.uk)

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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