Technology Overview

By Steve Stroh [1] Note to the reader – this article is not intended to be "deeply technical"; it is offered as a readable, reasonably complete overview of the unique aspects of the AllCoNet2 / CONXX Platform Network to readers with some technical background and some exposure to networking and broadband wireless technologies. And then the telephone company representative said "We're sorry, but our lawyers tell us that if we allowed Allegany County to pay us to install an ATM switch, we'd have to do the same for every community that wanted one." Sometimes, the most profound innovations spring from the most unlikely circumstances, and that is the case with the above conversation giving rise to AllCoNet2 in Allegany County, Maryland, which in turn has given rise to cost-effective, carrier-grade networks based on CONXX Platform technology potentially being deployed anywhere in the world as primary telecommunications infrastructure. AllCoNet2 came to life [2] in a rural Maryland County that badly needed new jobs. Allegany County had done all the right things and had attracted several companies to seriously consider locating new facilities there, which included a significant number of new jobs. All of the prospective companies' "checklist" items had been satisfied, except one – adequate telecommunications infrastructure. The conversation that opens this article was the end result of a long series of conversations between Allegany County officials and the local telephone company. AllCoNet2 was created to provide that "refused" new telecommunications infrastructure for Allegany County, and it has been very successful. AllCoNet2 satisfies both new (Internet) and legacy (T-1, T-3) telecommunications requirements of businesses and is providing innovative new services such as Open Access Broadband Internet Access, Public Safety Mobile Broadband, as well as being an extremely cost-effective telecommunication backbone for public agencies such as the local library system, school system, and county government. When other government agencies began to find out about AllCoNet2 and what it was doing for Allegany County, they asked Allegany County to help them build similar networks. That was not feasible – county governments aren't in the business of building telecommunications networks for other government entities. There were a number of unique, very valuable technologies developed as part of AllCoNet2, and it was decided to find a private company to be a "Technology Transfer Partner"; CONXX Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah was selected. The technologies developed as part of AllCoNet2, and follow-on technologies developed and funded by CONXX, comprise the CONXX Platform [3] – the means by which CONXX Inc. can build additional "AllCoNet2 Networks" for government agencies, private companies such as Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), or even telecommunications carriers that need more cost-effective solutions to extend their networks into new areas. Understanding the CONXX Platform [4] is akin to peeling an onion and unless you peel down through all the layers, you don't get anywhere near a complete picture of what the CONXX Platform really is, or its profound implications for the future of telecommunications. Previous articles that have been written about AllCoNet haven't really done justice to the bigger picture of the CONXX Platform. To date, the only way to get "up to speed" on AllCoNet2 / CONXX Platform is to visit Cumberland, MD and see AllCoNet2 for yourself. When asked how long presentations take, CONXX personnel joke, "we've been able to get the short version down to one day." Wireless – Cost-effective – Allegany County encompasses 525 square miles of the Northwest corner of Maryland in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Allegany county is mostly rural (population 75,000), except for the city of Cumberland (population 21,500). The cost of deploying a new fiber-optic communications network that would reach the majority of citizens and businesses of Allegany County was estimated to be $680 million. In contrast, the cost of a wireless network that would meet the immediate telecommunications requirements of Allegany County and be scalable to future requirements was $4.7 million. CONXX Platform Networks embody all of the primary features and services of a modern telephone company [5]. Three different types of wireless systems are used in the CONXX Platform: Very high capacity point-to-point links that form the "backbone" of a CONXX Platform network. "Medium capacity" point-to-multipoint links that connect individual premises and the CONXX Platform network. "Last few feet" links inside a premises or localized area, typically using Wi-Fi. It's important to note that the use of wireless in CONXX Platform Networks is very different from the use of wireless by Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs). WISPs typically are only able to provide a "best effort" grade of service; a CONXX Platform Network offers very high reliability and integrates numerous Quality Of Service (QOS) mechanisms in order to deliver true carrier-grade services and reliability. ATM Core – Reliability, All Telecom Services – The core of a CONXX Platform network is the use of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) to "move the bits". ATM isn't discussed much outside of telephone companies and for good reason – ATM was designed around the needs of telephone companies: Compatibility with previous generations of telephony voice and data networks Scalability Quality of Service Reliability Security / absolute separation of data flows With ATM at its core, the CONXX Platform isn't "just as good as" a telephone company's services, a CONXX Platform Network provides the same services as a telephone company. For example, T-1 links are the most typical type of data network connection between a large business and its branches, such as a bank. The telephone company installs, maintains, monitors, and repairs the T-1 connections. A T-1 has distinct electrical and network characteristics that can be emulated by other network technologies, such as Ethernet-over-wireless systems... but such "emulations" have often proven to be problematic. While a CONXX Platform Network T-1 connection is wireless, care is taken to provide exactly the same characteristics as a T-1 line that businesses expect – electrical compatibility, and most importantly full signaling compatibility through the CONXX Platform Network because of the use of ATM (just as in a telephone company). This "full compatibility" also applies to "bigger" links such as T-3/DS3 service (45 Mbps). Scalability One of the primary reasons for the use of ATM is scalability; it would be the worst of all possible worlds if a new network were to be used so intensively as one could possibly hope... to the point where a new network is required because too much demand saturated the previous one. ATM allows scalability on a massive scale, far in excess of what could conceivably be needed in single network. When additional capacity is needed in a CONXX Platform Network, another node is simply added to the network, and the overall capacity is thus increased as more last-mile(s) links can be accommodated. This probably sounds ridiculously simplistic, but it really does seem to be the case that with ATM, it is that simple; there is no point of diminishing returns as with other network systems beyond which performance issues make it difficult to scale. Last-mile(s) Agnostic – Use what equipment makes sense Broadband Wireless Internet Access (BWIA) isn't exactly a new business. It's been tried in one form or another for more than a decade, with varying degrees of success. One constant has emerged in BWIA – continuous evolution of equipment. Of late, that means WiMAX. Even in WiMAX, which was supposed to be all about "standards" providing some certainty to equipment choices for BWIA deployments, disruptive evolution has occurred in the development of "Mobile WiMAX"... even before interoperability tests had been completed for "older" (by perhaps one year) "Fixed WiMAX" systems. To allow for such evolution, the CONXX Platform only "loosely couples" the last-miles(s) portions of the network to the other elements of the network. It is quite possible to operate multiple types of last-mile(s) equipment, simultaneously, in the same CONXX Platform Network. If a customer has a preference for a particular vendor, as long as certain basic requirements largely relating to the overall quality of the system are satisfied, it is likely that the customer's system preferences can be accommodated in their CONXX Platform Network. This Last Mile Agnosticism extends even to the use of wireless last-mile(s) links being optional. The CONXX Platform is inherently "fiber-ready" – all key elements of the CONXX Platform can accommodate fiber as an alternative to wireless links. This capability is expected to be particular useful CONXX Platform Networks deployed in urban areas where fiber is sometimes available for use. (To a lesser extent, the "loosely coupled" philosophy also applies to the "core" of the CONXX Platform – multiple backhaul radio vendors can be accommodated.) Security – Separation Of Data Flows One of the primary reasons that ATM was chosen for the core of CONXX Platform Networks was the ability to rigidly segregate data flows from different user populations within the CONXX Platform Network... just like the telephone company has to do. This capability is called Soft Permanent Virtual Circuit (SPVC) and that capability allows a common, reliable, "expensive" network to be built, while effectively servicing a diversity of customers and types of customers, and rigidly keeping each customer's data flows completely separate other customer's data flows. This allows a CONXX Platform Network to be used for public safety and commercial customers. SPVC also makes possible the Open Access model for allowing multiple Internet Service Providers to use a common CONXX Platform Network (more about Open Access model below.) "Soft" PVC is an intriguing capability – it allows dynamic allocation of available network bandwidth and prioritization. This capability could be used in an emergency when public safety users of a CONXX Platform Network need much more the network's bandwidth than normal in order to provide communications from the scene of a disaster. Management – All Elements While telephone companies can afford entire staffs devoted to monitoring and managing their networks, CONXX Platform Networks are, again, designed to be cost effective, so monitoring and managing a CONXX Platform Network has been streamlined to automate the management, monitoring, and troubleshooting of problems in a CONXX Platform Network. The CONXX Platform Network Management System (NMS) was written from scratch and allows one person... or a staff... to manage and monitor a CONXX Platform Network. (Text does not come anywhere close to describing the intuitiveness of the CONXX NMS – even a static photo would not do it justice. It is truly intuitive and easy to use.) The CONXX Platform NMS is relatively unique – it is not based on other NMS systems such as HP OpenView and CA SPECTRUM. Each element that is part of a CONXX Platform Network is intensively monitored, its behavior characterized over time, trends recorded, and can be individually monitored, isolated, and controlled in a few seconds and a few mouse clicks... down to the usable life cycle of a battery in an individual Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), the fuel level in the tanks for backup generators, and the outside temperature at a CONXX Platform Network tower site. Quality Of Service – Across Network Elements Not only must a CONXX Platform Network offer the same services as a telephone company to fulfill its role, it must be able to deliver those services at the same Quality Of Service level(s) as a telephone company. Not just reliability (and again, that will be deferred for discussion below) but reliable flow of data throughout the network – far better than the "best effort" grade of service that is typical for not only WISPS using wireless, but also Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) services from the telephone company and cable (television) modem service. While QOS isn't an issue within the ATM core of a CONXX Platform Network... (QOS isn't "added in" to ATM; it's inherent; packets simply don't get dropped in ATM networks as there is no "contention". If packet loss does occur in an ATM network, it's a major failure mode and redundant network elements are brought online to correct the error.) ... Ensuring effective QOS is very much an issue in the "last mile" and "last few feet" wireless links that are used in a CONXX Platform Network, which are typically based on Ethernet technologies, and thus subject to packet loss which could result in degraded Quality Of Service. In designing a CONXX Platform Network, measures are taken to minimize the possibility of "external" packet loss – link lengths are kept short to insure reliable link margins, the radios used in a CONXX Platform Network are high-quality and use robust modulation technologies. Most carrier / enterprise-grade "last mile" and "last few feet" radios have their own QOS mechanisms and may incorporate and interoperate with Ethernet-based QOS mechanisms such as Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS). But the radio's QOS mechanisms don't interoperate (cleanly) with ATM, so CONXX developed a proprietary "multiprotocol encapsulation bridge" (MEB) device to insure QOS is maintained in the transition between the ATM core of the CONXX Platform Network and the last mile(s) wireless link. The overall result is far better QOS performance than what was possible with just the "radio's" QOS mechanisms. The "MEB" approach was chosen instead of using... or having to build... ATM-based last mile wireless links. A goal of CONXX is to be "agnostic" in the choice of last-mile connectivity, even to the extent that radios are optional when it's more expedient to use fiber between a CONXX Platform Network node and network users. While the work to qualify and integrate a particular last-mile(s) wireless link into the CONXX Platform isn't "easy", neither is it "difficult", and thus new last-mile(s) wireless links and technologies can be used as new solutions when needed, such as making use of WiMAX systems when such systems are more available, mature, truly interoperable, and cost-effective. Open Access Model – Many organizations, one network "Open Access" – the ability of multiple organizations to share the usage of a single network is a controversial concept. Cable television companies have traditionally been exempt from Open Access requirements. Until very recently, telephone companies were subject to Open Access requirements such as allowing ISPs to lease "Unbundled Network Elements" (UNEs) to provide DSL service. Recent changes in telecom law have rendered Open Access across telephone company networks somewhat moot. To customers, Open Access is a powerful concept, allowing them the best of both worlds – their choice in services that fit their specific needs, with the reliability and cost-effectiveness of the construction, sharing, and maintenance of a single well-maintained, well-financed network. In a CONXX Platform Network, Open Access allows a number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to connect customers to a CONXX Platform Network. The ISPs use the same type of radios (only models of radios "certified" for use with CONXX Platform networks), they can even connect the radios to the same network node, but the data flows for each ISP throughout the CONXX Platform Network are kept completely separate. CONXX charges a modest fee per customer for use of the CONXX Platform Network, and the individual ISP is free to charge as little, or as much for their services to their customers as they wish. The benefit to the ISP is that the CONXX Platform Network is "paid for" and "fully deployed" – they can spend all their time marketing to and "plugging in" customers and the "back end" of the CONXX platform Network is handled by others. Each CONXX Platform Network ISP is granted access to the CONXX Platform Network Management System (restricted to monitoring and managing only the customers on "their segment" of the CONXX Platform Network.) Open Access is a feature of a CONXX Platform Network. Implementing Open Access is completely optional to accommodate buyers of CONXX Platform Networks that intend to use a CONXX Platform Network entirely for private purposes. But implementing Open Access is a powerful tool for economic development, and making it available on a government owned-and-built network has some significant advantages: It dilutes the oft-cited argument that "governments shouldn't be building networks" and "taking away business from private ISPs. Multiple ISPs can provide service in a community in direct competition without "ruinous" competition for scarce license-exempt spectrum (or providing access to expensive licensed spectrum). By direct, or indirect involvement, Government can insure that a tier of Broadband Internet Access is made available and affordable to those that could benefit from it most such as the poor and the home-bound. Government networks can be built to provide coverage to all areas and citizens, not just those affluent areas that provide a quick Return On Investment (ROI). Open Access – Taking it one step further While not yet complete, CONXX is working to integrate Wi-Fi and "Open Ethernet" into the CONXX Platform. Wi-Fi is inexpensive (if not "free" from being built-in to systems such as laptops) and becoming ubiquitous. A CONXX Platform Network last-mile(s) radio would be used to link to a multi-tenant building such as an office building, shopping mall, apartment building, nursing home, etc. Inside that building, either Wi-Fi Access Points (APs) or Ethernet wiring provides a connection between the user and the CONXX Platform Network. When the user connects their device to Wi-Fi or Ethernet, they are presented with a choice of service providers the first time they use their web browser. Some service providers may offer free services (at reduced capabilities or reduced speed or merely to present civic information.) Other service providers can offer varying prices and services. Still others can offer specialized services such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephony services (getting very easy with the recent release of VOIP over Wi-Fi "cordless" phones.) All the described service providers can coexist in the building... or zone (outdoor Wi-Fi technology is evolving rapidly, especially those systems that make use of dynamic wireless mesh network technology.) The "Open Access – One Step Further" model extends to non-commercial service providers such as government users. Police could use Wi-Fi Intranet Access from a handheld computer in a mall; a public health nurse could use a laptop in a senior citizen's center to maintain records on her senior-citizen patients. Wi-Fi "webcams" can be used to monitor key traffic intersections. All of these services are extremely cost-effective to the user because their investment in access technology is minimal, if not free and they have freedom of choice in providers because of effective competition. Such service is cost-effective to the service provider to provide, and the CONXX Platform Network owner because the cost of a last-mile(s) link is absorbed over multiple end users and there is no cost to the service provider to connect individual users. Economic Model(s) There are a number of potential economic models for deployment of CONXX Platform Networks. In Allegany County, Maryland, government entities paid for the construction of AllCoNet2 and in return were able to avoid enormous ongoing telecommunications costs by "bypassing" the local telephone company for communications between government offices and the ability to truly competitive-source their remaining "external" telecommunications requirements. While those avoided costs provided the direct cost-justification for the expense of building AllCoNet2, the other purpose in building AllCoNet2's was to offer cost-competitive, state-of-the-art telecommunications services to entice companies to relocate facilities and jobs to Allegany County, and in this, AllCoNet2 has succeeded. The CONXX Platform is cost-effective enough to be a "bypass" telecommunications infrastructure for a well-established ISP or Competitive Local Exchange Carrier who is currently using telephone company infrastructure to connect to their customers – that business model has become somewhat precarious of late. It may well be feasible to build a CONXX Platform Network on a co-op model, where a number of existing ISPs can come together to build a single network that they could all use collectively somewhat like the Open Access model discussed above (but restricted to use only by those who contributed financially.) One of the more intriguing possibilities is for CONXX Platform Networks to be built to replace and extend existing ISP operations in a "roll up" model, and with the Quality Of Service inherent in the CONXX Platform, add higher-margin services such as VOIP from national vendors such as Vonage. Despite its roots of being developed to solve the Rural Digital Divide issue, the CONXX Platform is also applicable to urban network deployments. There are a number of urban Broadband Wireless Service Providers operating quite successfully, but the services that they offer are typically "best-effort". That's because the last-mile wireless systems that they use have no inherent ability to insure Quality Of Service or they have no way to "couple" the QOS capabilities in their wired infrastructure to the QOS capabilities (if any) in their wireless infrastructure. That is the core technical problem that the CONXX Platform solves – coupling QOS across disparate network "layers". To be ready for urban opportunities, CONXX is working to incorporate wireless systems that are particularly well-suited for urban use, such as 60 GHz license-exempt systems, into the CONXX Platform. Accommodating the requirements of Public Safety was a major design goal of AllCoNet2 and the CONXX Platform. Public safety agencies are an ideal user of CONXX Platform Networks as the vast majority of the cost is front-loaded into the construction of the network, with very little ongoing Operating Expense – the same way that Public Safety agencies have historically built and operated their networks where they want the majority of their operational budget to go into equipment, salaries to serve their mandate. A CONXX Platform Network can not only provide carrier-grade, highly-reliable "fixed" telecommunications services, but can also supplement a public safety agency's mobile infrastructure by extending two-way radio services cost-effectively into new areas and bridging multiple two-way radio systems together as needed by transporting "Push To Talk" voice traffic seamlessly across the network. AllCoNet2 has integrated very cost-effective mobile broadband capabilities to provide into additional coverage areas. CONXX Communications Deployment Platform The CONXX Communications Deployment Platform (CDP) distills the unique aspects of the CONXX Platform's technology into a product package consisting of hardware, software, and services. CONXX offers the CDP to enable network builders to add cost-effective, carrier-grade reliability to new or existing networks. The CDF consists of three hardware units, the CONXX Network Management System, and a hardware/software support contract. There are two optional services available as part of the CONXX Communications Deployment Platform – Turnkey Installation Services, and Integration / Certification Services (for systems that are not already certified for use with the CDP. Conclusion While the CONXX Platform is, at its most simple, a Broadband Wireless Internet Access system... it is far, far more than merely "yet another BWIA system". The CONXX Platform is simultaneously a well-proven business model for next-generation telecommunications services, a unique combination of leading-edge technologies and the ability to accommodate legacy telecommunications requirements. Networks such as AllCoNet2 can be one piece of economic salvation to communities that would otherwise be bypassed in the rush towards the global broadband economy. Postscripts MSNBC, March 26, 2004 Bush calls for universal broadband by 2007 By MSNBC Staff and Reuters ALBUQUERQUE - Reaching back to revive an idea promoted by the man he beat for the White House, President Bush urged Friday that affordable high-speed Internet access be available to all Americans by 2007, saying it was essential to the nation's economic growth. (As this article is written, twenty-three months have elapsed since President Bush's call for affordable, universal broadband, with no detectable progress. In fact, the US's position on Broadband has gotten worse in those twenty-two months.) Salon.com, October 18, 2005 Free American broadband! By S. Derek Turner In France, you can get super-fast DSL, unlimited phone service and 100 TV channels for a mere $38 a month. Why does the same thing cost so much more in the U.S.? Next time you sit down to pay your cable-modem or DSL bill, consider this: Most Japanese consumers can get an Internet connection that's 16 times faster than the typical American DSL line for a mere $22 per month. Across the globe, it's the same story. In France, DSL service that is 10 times faster than the typical United States connection; 100 TV channels and unlimited telephone service cost only $38 per month. In South Korea, super-fast connections are common for less than $30 per month. Places as diverse as Finland, Canada and Hong Kong all have much faster Internet connections at a lower cost than what is available here. In fact, since 2001, the U.S. has slipped from fourth to 16th in the world in broadband use per capita. While other countries are taking advantage of the technological, business and education opportunities of the broadband era, America remains lost in transition. (Will the next Amazon.com, or Google, or eBay be birthed somewhere other than the US? Some would argue it's already happened – Online gaming [as opposed to gambling] is an enormous business worldwide, and many of the largest such companies are not based in the US.) (Lafayette, Louisiana) Daily Advertiser, January 6, 2006 Appeals court blocks sale of fiber bonds Claire Taylor After nearly two years of planning and a public vote, the city's efforts to bring fiber optic cable to every home and business hit another snag Thursday. The Third Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that Lafayette cannot issue bonds to build the fiber-to-the-home project under the ordinance approved by the City-Parish Council on Sept. 6. The ruling favors private telecommunications company BellSouth, which has fought the plan from the beginning, saying it represents unfair competition by the city-owned Lafayette Utilities System. The city already has spent more than $125,000 fighting lawsuits over the project. Lafayette can appeal to the state supreme court or rewrite the bond ordinance. Either way, Thursday's decision delays the bond sale and the fiber project, which city leaders hailed as a means to create high-tech jobs and shrink the digital divide between residents who can afford high-speed Internet access and those who cannot. "City leaders are disappointed with the decision, and we're meeting with our legal and finance teams to determine how to proceed with the wishes of the voters of the city of Lafayette," City-Parish President Joey Durel said in a statement. Thursday's ruling reverses an earlier decision by Fifteenth Judicial District Judge Durwood Conque that favored LUS's fiber proposal. LUS Director Terry Huval recently said if the appeals court were to uphold the bond ordinance, LUS could sell bonds in March, and the first fiber customers could be serviced in mid-2007. On July 16, by a vote of 12,290 to 7,507, or 62 percent to 38 percent, city of Lafayette voters agreed to issue up to $125 million in bonds to pay for the fiber-to-the-home project, which would offer customers high-speed Internet, telephone and television service. The election was forced by a lawsuit filed by BellSouth, Cox Communications and three citizens who argued successfully that LUS was using an improper state law to issue the fiber bonds. City leaders conceded and called for the election. (Some communities such as Lafayette recognize the need for affordable, universal broadband and are trying to make it happen, at least for their citizens. But when the incumbents have any kind of leverage, however slim, they can exert influence. Also... note the figure - $125 million! That's how much one small community thinks it's worth to get to affordable, universal broadband service.) Washington Post, January 31, 2006 Ivan G. Seidenberg Interview Excerpts By Arshad Mohammed Q: Do you know how many hundreds, thousands [of franchise agreements] you would need to get to your target? A: There are several thousand. I also need to make this point. So this is the only threatening comment I'll make. That over time, remember, there are some franchises that are big. So let's take the city of Philadelphia -- it's big. . . . So the issue is, that's counted as one. Then you've got all these oodles of them in the state of New Jersey, or Virginia . . . So at some point, if we don't clean up this process, we just won't be in a position to do all the things that we think could be done. So at this point I think doing it town by town . . . we are willing to do it to prove the feasibility of why this is all a good idea. But at some point, if we don't see some change in behavior here, I think we are going to have to question how much we can do and how fast we do it. Q: Does that mean that you will concentrate on the big franchises rather than the little ones? A: It means that -- we'll decide when we get there. (Does this portend Verizon Communications exiting more small markets?) MSNBC / Newsweek, January 9, 2006 We All Have a Lot To Learn By Fareed Zakaria Shanmugaratnam also pointed out that American universities are unrivaled globally—and are getting better. "You have created a public-private partnership in tertiary education that is amazingly successful. The government provides massive funding, and private and public colleges compete, raising everyone's standards." Despite all the praise Shanmugaratnam showered on the States, he said that the U.S. educational system "as a whole has failed." "Unless you are comfortably middle class or richer," he explained, "you get an education that is truly second-rate by any standards. Apart from issues of fairness, what this means is that you never really access the talent of poor, bright kids. They don't go to good schools and, because of teaching methods that focus on bringing everyone along, the bright ones are never pushed. In Singapore we get the poor kid who is very bright and very hungry, and that's crucial to our success." This sounds like a distribution problem – bright kids in the US can't gain access to the superior resources of the US higher education system. http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html Welcome to MIT's OpenCourseWare: a free and open educational resource for faculty, students, and self-learners around the world. OCW supports MIT's mission to advance knowledge and education, and serve the world in the 21st century. It is true to MIT's values of excellence, innovation, and leadership. MIT OCW: Is a publication of MIT course materials Does not require any registration Is not a degree-granting or certificate-granting activity In January, 2006 CONXX enabled the first ISP on AllCoNet2, making it possible for "regular customers" to get affordable, fast, Broadband Internet Access in more than 90% of Allegany County. In coming months and years other ISPs will be added to AllCoNet2 and coverage will be expanded. The quality and speed of Broadband Internet Access via AllCoNet2 rivals most of the "15 better Broadband Countries" cited above. All schools in Allegany County have already had Internet access for close to a decade. The US has a habit of leaping ahead conceptually from the rest of the world. A century ago an American invented the telephone. For most of the previous century the US had a telecommunications system that was the envy of the world. A few decades ago the Internet was created in the US. Perhaps this decade will see the joining of universal, reasonable cost Broadband Internet Access to bridge the gap between Internet-based educational resources like OpenCourseWare and ordinary people's kids. Thanks to AllCoNet2, a CONXX Platform Network, the children of Allegany County are ready for that to happen now. Author's Note - I'd like to thank Earl D. Tanner, Jr. for a very careful reading of the article and numerous suggestions that markedly improved the overall readability of this article. About the Author Steve Stroh has been writing about Broadband Wireless Internet Access since beginning a column on the subject in Boardwatch Magazine in April, 1997. Stroh was hired as Senior Research Analyst and CONXX employee #3 in January, 2006. More information on Stroh is available at www.stevestroh.com About CONXX, Inc. CONXX, Inc. was formed as a technology transfer partner for the technology originally developed for AllCoNet2, an innovative county-wide wireless telecommunications network in Allegany County, Maryland. The AllCoNet2 technology has been extended and updated into the CONXX Platform. In 2006 CONXX will be building a number additional CONXX Platform Networks for other government entities and offer for sale a product package derived from the AllCoNet2 technology. More information on CONXX is available at www.conxx.net. About AllCoNet2 AllCoNet2 is an innovative Broadband Wireless Access network in Allegany County, Maryland built and funded by a partnership of government and not-for-profit entities to provide a 21st century telecommunications infrastructure for the citizens, businesses, schools, and government agencies of Allegany County. AllCoNet2 is now operated and managed by CONXX, Inc. under contact to the founding entities. More information about AllCoNet2 is available at www.allconet.org. Further reading - other Articles and Information About AllCoNet2 and CONXX, Inc. MICROWAVE IN MARYLAND; Rural America GOES BROADBAND, Wireless Business Technology Magazine article, May, 2002 – http://www.allconet.org/Wireless-Business-Technology.pdf Bridging the Cumberland Gap, Telephony article, March 18, 2002 - http://www.allconet.org/Telephony_Magazine.pdf Western Maryland's Revolutionary WAN, Marconi Case Study, 2003 – http://www.allconet.org/Allconet_cs.pdf Alvarion's Radios Chosen for AllCoNet2 Network, Broadband Wireless Online article, May 10, 2004 - http://mobileipexpo.com/magazine/print_news.asp?news=3345 Moving Beyond Wireless Broadband to Carrier Grade Infrastructure, Presentation to WCA Conference, 2005 - www.wcai.com/pdf/2005/05presentations/Tanner_Todd.pdf The ATM WISP, ISP Planet article, August 9, 2005 – http://www.isp-planet.com/fixed_wireless/business/2005/conxx.html [1]Senior Research Analyst, CONXX, Inc. [2] There is a very interesting human interest story that deserves to be told about how AllCoNet2 came to be, but this particular story is about the unique aspects of the AllCoNet2 / CONXX Platform's technology and architecture. [3] Because the technologies available for future CONXX Platform networks are now starting to diverge somewhat from the completed and operational AllCoNet2, hereafter I will use the term CONXX Platform almost exclusively. [4] This article is not an attempt to answer "if" AllCoNet2 / CONXX Platform Networks "work". It does, most assuredly work extremely well; AllCoNet2 is in operation 24x7x365 at 5-9's reliability, with thousands of users in Allegany Country Maryland. This article attempts to explain how AllCoNet2 / CONXX Platform Networks work, and some of the design and operation rationale. [5]It's important that I not mislead the reader that the CONXX Platform is capable of "Plain Old Telephone Service"... at least in the usual sense of using individual copper wires from a central office that ultimately connect to each individual telephone. The CONXX Platform does offer equivalent telephony services through the use of "Voice Over Internet Protocol" (VOIP) via wireless links (as the equivalent of the copper wires) and a unit called an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) to allow a conventional telephone to continue to be used. In the end, one can use VOIP and an ATA allows the use of conventional telephones, used in a conventional manner, with the same degree of reliability (with the exception that [I think] rotary dial phones cannot be used to initiate calls when connected to an ATA.)