West Virginia Broadband Cooperative

A Carrier-Neutral Fiber Optic & Microwave Broadband Backbone

IntroductionWelcome to the presentation for the WVBC, West Virginia Broadband Co-op. This project is a joint effort of the Clarendon Foundation (http://www.clarendon.tv) and Mark Bayliss, President of Visual Link Internet (http://www1.visuallink.com/).

Mark Bayliss, the President of Visual Link Internet, is one of the founding members and a director of the Virginia ISP Association, and was one of the first ISPs in the United States. His work During the last 10 years, Mr. Bayliss has been involved in efforts to bring broadband access to underserved areas in the United States and to keep America ahead of the world in the Internet technology.

In this presentation, we will point out the key problems in achieving universal broadband access. We will discuss the advantages that the United States has and how to build on these resources. This presentation will show that in the United States currently has the lowest cost of broadband Internet in the world. Yet Internet Service Providers in many third world countries provide higher broadband speed to the end user than the in the United States.

West Virginia ranks last as a state in terms of the proportion of its residents who have access to broadband Internet service. On the positive side, the state has the lowest cost of commercial electricity, which is a significant advantage that can be used to attract Data Centers to relocate there.

With this presentation we will provide a proposed solution to address the lack of broadband access in the state of West Virginia, while at the same time creating conditions needed to maintain America’s world leadership in Internet service.

Slide 2

WVBC: The project

First “Carrier Neutral” Fiber Optic and Microwave Backbone Network planed in the United States.

Combining low cost of Internet bandwidth with low cost of electric power to help secure the U. S. Data Center industry as the most cost effective in the world.

Building instate peering points for ISP’s and government that will lower the cost of Internet access and increase the fault tolerance of the Internet in the United States.

Solving the underlying problem of bandwidth transport cost, which is the best way to directly address the root cause of the digital divide, and the only way to sustainably expand broadband service to unserved and undeserved areas.

Slide 3

World Internet Download Speed

As you can see from the the charts above, North America has the best Internet connections to the world. You will also note that there are no American ISPs in the top ten list, and the United States is not in the top 10 countries list. This is due to the cost of Internet transport inside the United States, particularly electric power. The United States is lagging behind, even though it has the lowest cost of Internet bandwidth and the best connections to the rest of the world.

All of the ISPs in the United States are limited by the high costs of Internet transport here. The United States has fallen from its prior number one position in large part because it has become too costly to provide sufficient bandwidth for broadband access to customers.

This same cost of transport is the principal reason that many areas in ou4 country are underserved by broadband ISPs, and that there are limitations on where Data Centers can effectively operate. The WVBC has developed a plan to address this problem head on by extending the Internet backbone into West Virginia.

Given the electric power rates in West Virginia, the Co-op will be able to offer an average cost per Megabit of Tier 1 Internet bandwidth that in most cases will reduce service costs by 50% in metropolitan areas and in underserved areas by as much as 90%. This reduction in the cost for Internet bandwidth will allow ISPs to provide world leading Internet speeds, transform the dynamics of the Internet in here America, and alter the world’s Data Center geography.

Slide 4

WVBC Project Goals

Lower the cost of Broadband Internet by 50%

Increase the number of Broadband ISPs

Create an environment to help increase the number of Data Centers in the United States.

Provide a central Internet peering point in each state

Help the United States maintain its Internet leadership

Provide a cost effective Diverse Internet Backbone Connection.

Slide 5

How to Achieve Our Goals

Build a Co-op Fiber Optic and Microwave Backbone from the primary Internet peering points across the United States.

Establish in-state peering points for ISPs to connect in each state to provide survivability.

Work with ISPs to help them deploy cost effective Broadband solutions and expand Broadband services to underserved areas.

Work to attract more Data Centers to the U. S. in order to maintain its position as the world’s best location for Data Centers.

Slide 6

Connecting the Resources

Virginia Internet Peering Points have the lowest cost of bandwidth in the United States. According to U S News & World Report, more than 50% of the world’s Internet traffic passes through the Metropolitan Area Exchange (“MAE”) East in Ashburn, Virginia.

(U. S. News & World Report, April, 2009, page 46)

Slide 7

Primary Peering Points in the United States: UUNET, SBC, Quest, AT&T

This slide shows the major Internet backbones in the United States. As you can clearly see, there is a pattern, namely that all of the backbones connect to MAE East in Ashburn, Virginia. In fact, over 50% of the world’s Internet traffic is routed through Northern Virginia.

This favorable location of the center of the Internet is due to historical factors. Specifically, the Internet backbone was originally designed for the needs of the United States military, which was developing models for the computer-centric battlefield with the Pentagon at the center.

The East Coast peering points have continued to be the primary peering points for the Internet mainly due to the amount of Data Centers that are located in the United States. This has put the United States in a position of having the lowest cost for Internet service and the highest performance of any peering point in the world.

The more Data Centers we have in the United States, the more Internet traffic will be routed through peering points here to the rest of the world. This, in turn, lowers the cost of Internet in our country, thereby making the operation of Data Centers in America to be even more cost effective.

The United States is currently the leader in having the most Data Centers locate in our country, because of the relatively low power costs here. However, as electricity power rates increase here, Europe will gain an advantage in competing against us. The power costs in the United States vary depending on location. West Virginia has the lowest cost for commercial electricity in our country. Other areas, particularly on the West Coast, have much higher electric power costs.

Data Centers are the most energy intensive industry in America, more than steel plants and automobile manufacturing facilities. It is estimated that Data Centers alone account for 10 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States.

Power costs are projected to rise on the West Coast next year, which could provide an impetus for Data Centers there to relocate to other areas with lower energy costs. Relocating can save a Data Center millions of dollars.

It may soon become more cost effective to move Data Centers in some regions to other peering points, some of which are outside of the United States, such as the EU peering point in London, England.

If it cannot maintain its power cost position, the United States will likely loose its role as the world’s leader in Internet service over the next 4 years. Obviously, this potential outcome would have major economic impacts, as well as significant national security implications.

Slide 8

How the Internet Connects

Here we see that the USA, and MAE East in particular, is the center of most of the world’s Internet traffic.

Slide 9

First Phase Overview

This image shows the proximity of West Virginia to the center of the Internet in Northern Virginia.

MAE East, which is generally recognized as the core or the center of the Internet, is located in Virginia. Tier 1 Internet Service Providers from each continent interconnect at this location. This interconnection of peering points results in the lowest cost and highest performance Internet access in the world.

Northeastern West Virginia has the lowest cost of electric power of any state. Moreover, it is located suitably close to the center of the Internet, which provides an opportunity to extend this low cost of Internet access into the state. By combining the low cost of power with the advantages of being

directly connected to the world’s primary peering point can transform the state of West Virginia into one of the most cost effective locations to operate Data Centers in the world.

Another benefit of this project is that the same problems of Internet transport costs that affect Data Center operations also have an impact on the ability of Broadband ISPs to operate in many rural areas in West Virginia. This project will dramatically lower the monthly operating costs thereby making it profitable for the existing broadband ISPs to expand their services into underserved areas.

This project is intended to extend the advantages that America has with respect to low cost Internet bandwidth and low cost of power. By increasing the amount of Data Centers and optimizing the conditions needed to sustain America’s superior net centric economy. The end result will be to bring the United States back in the top ten lists for broadband service, and maintain our country’s low cost for bandwidth advantage well into the 21st century.

Slide 10

National Map of “Metropolitan Area Exchange”

Peering Points

Slide 11

MAE East

MAE East is located in Vienna in Northern Virginia.

Over 50% of the world’s Internet traffic routes through MAE East.

Data Centers positioned close to this location have a better ability to deliver content throughout the world at a lower cost of Internet bandwidth than any other location in the world.

Data Centers for Yahoo, AOL, AT&T are located here.

Slide 12

Directly Connected to the Center of the Internet

More than 50 percent of the world’s Internet traffic goes through Northern Virginia.

The center of the Internet is located closer to Hampshire and Morgan Counties than 98% of the USA.

70+ miles from Washington, DC

Slide 13

Data Center Power Usage

Currently Data Centers are the largest power users of any industry in the USA.

Data Center electricity use doubled between 2000 and 2006, and will double again by 2011.*

Data Centers will continue to increase in number and energy consummations as the world’s Internet population increases.

In order for the United States to maintain its Data Center industry leadership, we must provide affordable broadband access to domestic locations with low costs of power.

*U. S. News & World Report, April, 2009, page 46.

This slide explains why the Data Center costs are strongly impacted by power costs. It is important to understand that the current locations where Data Centers can cost effectively access Tier 1 bandwidth are limited to areas that are within 70 miles of an Internet peering point.

Unfortunately, many of the peering points are burdened with some of the highest costs for electricity in the United States. Currently, however, the cost of bringing Tier 1 bandwidth to states, which have the lowest electric rates, is too expensive to justify the power savings.

This is why there is a possibility that Data Centers in the United States would seriously consider relocating to another country. Millions of dollars per year are at stake.

Slide 14

Data Center Growth Facts

Human beings created 161 exabytes of data in 2006 - approximately 3 million times the information in all of the books ever written. This equals a stack of 12 books from here to the sun. Data use is expanding at 57% per year.

An exabyte is one quintillion bytes or a billion gigabytes

Source: International Data Corporation (www.idc.com)

IDC Report “The Diverse and Exploding Universe” http://www.emc.com/leadership/digital-universe/expanding-digital-

universe.htm

These facts reveal the basis for the rapid growth of Data Centers. There is a direct correlation between the continued growth of Internet customers (even during a severe recession) and increase in Data Center operational expenses. Each new Internet customer will use email and access online content. Each content provider will have to increase the number of servers in Data Centers, as the world Internet population increases.

If the United States maintains its position as the world’s most cost effective location for Data Centers, then our country would expect to realize an increase in GDP as the global Internet population expands. If the USA looses its leadership position, then then Europe will likely become the world leader in the Data Center Industry, whereas the cost for bandwidth in the United States will increase, and our country will see a loss in Internet-related businesses.

Slide 15

Power Cost Per State

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Power Cost in Cents per Kilowatt Hour by State

In 2008, 50% of all Data Centers have insufficient power.

By 2010, half of all enterprise Data Centers will have to relocate or outsource due to electric power limitations. Source: Data Center Institute.

http://www.afcom.com/Data_Center/About_us.asp

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2006_March_23/ai_n26804120/

West Virginia has the lowest cost of power for any state in the United States. It is also the largest intrastate seller of electricity in the country. Fortunately, the state happens to be located less than 70 miles from the world’s busiest Internet peering point, Ashburn, Virginia, which has the lowest cost of bandwidth in the world.

This coincidence provides the WVBC project with an opportunity to combine these geographical advantages. This will be part of the first phase of the West Virginia Broadband Co-op project.

This project has been structured to address the twin problems of electricity usage by Data Centers and the drastic lack of broadband connectivity in West Virginia. This project will be a win for the USA Data Center industry, as well as a win for underserved areas along Route 50 in West Virginia.

Slide 16

Data Center Growth in the United States

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Over $110 Billion will be spentjust on managing servers in 2008.

The growth rate of Data Centers in the United States is continuing unabated. The world Internet population reached 1 billion people in January of 2009, and is expected to increase to 2 billion by 2011 with China, India, Pakistan coming online with their broadband projects. During the first 3 months of 2009, there has been a 600% growth in Data Centers worldwide.

Slide 17

The Cost of Internet Bandwidth at World Internet Peering Points

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This chart shows the cost of bandwidth at the leading Internet peering points of Hong Kong, MAE East, and London. The United States clearly has the lead in lower cost of Internet bandwidth at the current time.

This chart also shows the amount of Internet bandwidth use and the total capacity of the Internet backbones. There is no reason that the United States should be leading the world in broadband speed and per capita rates of broadband deployment.

Slide 18

Project Benefits

Commence the Roll Out of a Transcontinental Carrier-Neutral Microwave and Fiber Internet Backbone.

Lower Bandwidth Costs for ISPs in Underserved Areas.

Attract Data Center and Net-centric Business to the United States.

M a k e B r o a d b a n d A c c e s s A f f o r d a b l e t o Underserved Areas.

Slide 19

What is already in place?

The microwave backbone from Northern Virginia to the Romney, WV Data Center and then branching off to Hampshire and Morgan counties.

This microwave backbone currently provides broadband Internet services to Morgan and Hampshire counties. This backbone will also act a diverse path and a backup Internet connection for the WVBC Fiber Optic Co-op network.

Romney WV Data Center

This is a 28000 square foot Data Center that was purchased from the state of West Virginia in 2006. This will be the Network Operations Center and management office for the WVBC project. The Romney WV Data Center will also be offered as an in-state peering point for ISPs and emergency services in the state of WV.

Slide 20

Current Microwave Backbone

Slide 21

Romney West Virginia Data Center

One of three Data Centers built to support a Nationwide Microwave Network.

Former home of the GSA and VA Net Data Centers.

Located 100 miles from Washington, DC.

28,000 Square Foot Hardened Structure.

Slide 22

Former Cold War Microwave Data Network

The Cold War Microwave Network connects to what are now the primary Internet peering points of MAE East, MAE Central, MAE West, and Chicago.

The Romney Data Center was the primary Network Operation Center for this network. It will now do the same for the WVBC Microwave and Fiber Network.

You will also note that this network basically follows Rout 50 as an East -West route.

Slide 23

U. S. Route 50“The Nation’s Backbone”

Route 50 was the first highway built from coast to coast. It was given the title of “The Nations Backbone” by Time Magazine.

Route 50 followed the old wagon trails used by the pioneers. It brought prosperity to thousands of cities and towns across the USA that were inhabited by the early settlers of our country. The Interstate Highway system made Route 50 obsolete.

With the WVBC project using it as the path for broadband traffic, Route 50 will truly become “The Nation’s Backbone” again -- this time a Broadband Backbone. And it will bring prosperity back again to the communities along it’s entire length.

Slide 24

Internet Peering Point Map

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The slide shows the primary Internet peering points in the United States. The WVBC project will connect these points and build out a fiber optic and microwave network that can be expanded to create a carrier neutral “Transcontinental Backbone(tm).”

By connecting the four main peering points to this backbone, the network will be able to increase data throughput speeds in the United States and increase fault tolerance. The Backbone will traverse the United States along Route 50 and will provide broadband Internet transport to some of the most underserved areas of our country.

Slide 25

Proposed Microwave Backbone Route

Slide 26

Proposed Fiber Route Phase 1

Slide 27

Proposed Fiber Route Phase 2

Slide 28

Next Steps

Extend the Fiber Optic connection from Northern Virginia Peering Points to West Virginia.

Establish an in-state Peering Point Plan for West Virginia.

Continue to build the Microwave Route across the United States.

Build the Fiber Optic Network following the Transcontinental Microwave Route.