It’s fascinating to try grasping just how much times have changed.
Infrastructure – wiring, plumbing, construction, and things of that nature – of days-gone-by is an interest of mine and the Emporium was a trove of details that got my curiosity going. The “panic alarm” accessible to the cashiers at the old bank (I’ll save the details so you can check it out for yourself) is a classic example that elicits the response of, “well, I guess it gets the job done!” Unless, of course, it’s lunchtime... sorry, no more details from me – I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Go check it out.
I also met powerful, influential regional media figure Dori Weber in person for the first time after numerous e-mails.
Oh, and I had a run-in with local law enforcement. No... not really... just a quick check to see what the guy rolling into town at 1:30 in the morning with out-of-state license plates was up to. Nah, I’m embellishing again... Either he’s seen me before, or I have an honest face... and probably the former.
So it was a good time, but I haven’t even gotten to the part about actually getting something done – which we did!
I’ll be careful, now, in the use of the word “we” because my handy installation contractor Ron was the one doing most of the work that “we” accomplished. All I did was plan the job, buy the materials, climb a ladder a couple of times to poke at a wire with a broomstick, and go for lunch (guess where?)... Ron was the workhorse.
You can tell it’s not me on the ladder because the ladder isn’t wobbling.
We (see? There I go with that “we” stuff again) managed to install over 3,000 feet of new aerial cable… in a day… a hot day… not bad.The new cables serve two purposes…
More Internet Reliability
As I mentioned in a previous entry, we’re going to sectionalize Marquette’s Internet in to two TDMA upstream domains with as many as three discrete carriers on each section – compared to the one domain, one carrier that was here when I arrived, and the one domain, two (or three, depending on the day) carriers we have now.
The end result of this will be happiness and joy for all who surf the Internet via the Blue Sky Cable network, because it will improve the network’s resiliency, because physical problems on the cable line will be far less likely to cause trouble for people on the opposite side of town. The existing infrastructure has more-than-enough bandwidth to go around, but the topology of cable Internet is known as a “tree” topology – it even has a “trunk” – the implication of this is that trouble on one part of the “trunk” can impact distant branches. Now, Marquette will have two instead of one, operating independently.
The new cable isn’t live yet, but I did connect it up and run some end-to-end tests on the first 1,000 feet and it performs exceptionally well. Bottom line, it’s a good thing.
That’s one cable. Hopefully within another weekend or two, it will be all the way to Washington and we can hook ‘er up and git ‘r done.
So, what’s the other cable?
The Overlay Network
The other cable is something I call the “Overlay Network.”
This network opens up the door for some new and exciting possibilities – not the least of which is the ability for us to originate live television programming from anywhere in town within the footprint of the Overlay, and make it available to our subscribers. If you happened to watch Access Marquette during the recent bike rally, you saw that I had some video from the park and from downtown – and it was good – but it was on tape.
But now (once the overlay is ready, give me a couple of weeks)... whether at Marquette City Park, or downtown, or at one of the churches (all part of the first phases of the overlay network), or other places in the city, live, full-quality video and audio can be transmitted back to my head-end facility... and from there it can be placed on Channel 2 and transmitted directly to your living room.
This is a capability that doesn’t exist in many larger towns, or, of the capability exists, it doesn’t get a lot of use or attention, because it is an expensive proposition. Sure, in the big city the television stations and their microwave and satellite trucks can bring in live video from just about anywhere – but the difference here is that we’re not talking about a multi-million dollar affair, which changes the viability of all this – we can use the network for community programming without many of the cost-prohibitive trappings of big city media.
I hope you are getting the idea that I am committed to being a part of this community.
The inaugural event will be Marquette’s 135th Anniversary Celebration on August 1.
If all goes according to plan, we’ll be live in the park all day bringing a sample of the day’s activity to your living room. Mind you, it won’t be the same as being there – when you turn on the TV and see how much fun everybody’s having, you’ll want to come join us. Then, after the sun goes down and everything is packed away, we’ll bring you a rebroadcast of the day’s events. For those who can’t stay out in the heat all day, I think it will be a nice way to stay connected to the community… and ultimately, “community” is what this project is all about. That, and having fun. If you don’t enjoy what you do for a living, well, you know what they say.
Some time between now and then, you’ll probably see me, or some other live video, on Channel 2, for no particular reason – just making sure it all works according to plan.
The overlay network also opens up the potential for future technologies, services, applications, and capabilities that we haven’t even thought of yet. Oh… If anyone asks, plans are underway for live video capabilities in Bentley, too.
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