Spanning the Chasm
Interconnecting INETs
NATOA 24th Annual Local Government Telecommunications
Conference
Presented by:
Julie S. Omelchuck
Assistant Director
Tel: 503.823.4188
Email: julieo@ci.portland.or.us
Website: www.mhcrc.org
Background Information about the Community I-Net…
Serving the cities of
Negotiated in three franchises effective after
Built between June 1998 and June 2002.
Cable Company constructed the I-Net during its upgrade of the cable system. I-Net construction costs were charged to an I-Net fund on a direct, incremental cost basis to the cable system upgrade. The I-Net fund is described below.
I-Net components included:
12 fiber strand core ring with six hubs
six fiber, coax cable into 355 Stakeholder sites
Electronics for HFC and Gigabit Ethernet services
Total cost for I-Net initial construction and activation: $6.3 million
Current I-Net Users
· 52 percent K-12 educational sites
· 21 percent local governments
· 20 percent County government
· 4 percent Higher Education
· 3 percent non-profits
I-Net Fund
One percent of cable company quarterly gross revenues dedicated to the I-Net Fund.
Company retains the dedicated funds.
MHCRC oversees the fund and approves any expenditures.
Of the $6.3 million to initially activate the I-Net, actual fund revenues covered $3.55 million.
The Company advanced, under the franchises, $2.75 million which is being “paid back” plus interest out of current I-Net Fund revenues.
Current Services Provided Over the I-Net
Hybrid Fiber-Coax (HFC)
Activated: Aug. 2001
Paid I-Net customer: 2 (live, interactive video for distance learning)
Gigabit Ethernet Service
Activated: October 2002
Paid I-Net customers: 200 I-Net sites
Monthly Fee: $520
Live Origination PEG Video Digital System
Activated: Dec. 2003
Free service: PEG access obligation of Comcast
Access Centers provide service with mobile production unit
I-Net Fees Paid by ComNet to Comcast
I-Net Core Transport
fee
8
Hub-to-Hub - 1 Gbps Ethernet Segments
No Charge
The initial
eight Hub-to-Hub segments provide a “Managed Core Network Service (MCNS)
offering, at a minimum, a single 1 Gigabit switched Ethernet transport channel
between each Hub on the I-Net. The MCNS offering is provisioned via an optical connection to individual ports (Core Demarcation Points, or
"CDP's") at Comcast's premises. Comcast implemented and provisioned
MCNS consistent with the technical specifications the Comcast/ComNet Service
Agreement.
Per
Hub-to-Hub - 1 Gbps Ethernet Segment:
(Additional
1 Gbps Increments, per Segment, per month): $400.00
Site fee
Optical handoff of 1 Gigabit rate, per location, per month $240
Comcast provisions an “I-Net/IRNE Distribution Network
Service” (IDNS) on fiber capacity owned by the Company to I-Net user
sites. IDNS is provisioned from an
optical interface originating from a single Gigabit Ethernet
port at core demarcation points at Comcast's premises and terminates on a
Comcast provided fiber distribution panel at the I-Net location. Each IDNS connection provides an Ethernet
transfer rate capability of one (1) Gbps using
an optical interface presenting two fibers; one for transmit and one for
receive. Comcast implements and provisions IDNS’s consistent with the technical
specifications the Comcast/ComNet Service Agreement.
Comcast’s I-Net Operations and Maintenance Responsibilities
Network Planning
Work with I-Net stakeholders to assess I-Net bandwidth, service and equipment needs
Produce plans for network growth, including designs and implementation costs
Participate in planning for interconnect of area I-Nets
(PCN,
Produce backbone capacity forecast information
Network Provisioning
Engineer, order, walk out, install and make ready activities for fulfillment of plans and designs to address network growth
Process I-Net service orders
Perform acceptance testing of the network
Establish equipment standards with I-Net subscribers for end-user equipment
Consult with subscribers on recommended equipment
Provide least cost estimates for installation of I-Net facilities to sites requesting service that require new construction or other equipment placement
I-Net Service Agreement with City of Portland
Facilitate and fulfill I-Net services agreement between
AT&T and City of
Performance Monitoring and Maintenance
Monitor network performance and alarms 24X7
Perform regular preventative maintenance and testing on network
Provide advance notices to I-Net subscribers of planned maintenance, testing and changes that may affect network interoperability
Restore network outages, including typical occurrences and disaster recovery
Address performance issues and repair requests, including issuance and resolution of trouble tickets
Maintain and repair of I-Net coax and fiber
Maintain HFC nodes, hub electronics and headend electronics (CMTS, video processing and switching, and data switching hardware), and other I-Net Facilities
Monitor backbone and hub traffic, and lateral connections to demarcation point
Report on congestion of network capacity, including backbone, hubs, and through to the demarcation point
Report on all interconnection backbone utilization and all inter-hub backbone utilization
Reports on system operations, including network performance statistics
Provide for the physical and signal content security of the network
Subscriber Support and Administration
Customer support for HFC and other I-Net services
Billing and accounting for I-Net services and sites
Accounting and reports for I-Net fund
Disconnection of an I-Net service
Any necessary insurance, bonds or indemnification
Interconnects
Maintain and operate established I-Net interconnects
Maintain and operate I-Net interconnects with AT&T residential network
Community I-Net Interconnects Franchise Language
8.4 Interconnection of I-Net to City Cable and Public Fibers of Other Carriers. Upon request by the City, Grantee shall Interconnect its I-Net to:
(A) the fibers set aside for City use under other telecommunications franchises, insofar as such Interconnection is technically feasible; and
(B) any City-owned cable system and such other communications systems.
If the City authorizes such Interconnection, Grantee may credit the Incremental, direct cost of such Interconnection against the funds provided under Section 9.1(C).
10.6 Interconnection with other Cable Systems and Competitive Access Providers.
(A) Grantee shall continue without limitation all Interconnections in effect on the effective date of this Franchise.
(B) Grantee shall maintain Interconnections with all other major, contiguous
cable systems in
(C) The City understands that Interconnection requires cooperation from other cable system operators. The City shall make every reasonable effort to assist Grantee in achieving the cooperation necessary to realize Interconnection.
(D) Grantee shall establish and continue in effect a routing system satisfactory to the City for carriage of Signals to and from the Institutional Networks of the Grantee and cable operators serving jurisdictions contiguous with the Franchise Area.
8.6 Interconnection with other cable systems.
(D) Grantee shall provide at its Headend a secure facility, convenient for maintenance, to house the Interconnection of the institutional networks of Paragon Cable and TCI of Tualatin Valley (as successor to Columbia Cable). Grantee shall establish and continue in effect a routing system satisfactory to the City for carriage of signals from the institutional networks. Upon completion of the Cable System Upgrade, Grantee shall Interconnect its I-Net, and continue in effect a routing system satisfactory to the City, for carriage of Signals to and from the Grantee’s I-Net and institutional networks of cable operators serving jurisdictions contiguous with the Franchise Area.
Critical Franchise
Definitions
3.34 "Headend" means Grantee's Facility for signal reception and dissemination on the Cable System, including cable, antennas and wires, satellite dishes, monitors, switchers, modulators, processors for television Broadcast Signals, equipment for the Interconnection of the Cable System with adjacent cable systems and Interconnection of any separate networks which are part of the Cable System, and all other related equipment and Facilities.
3.38 "Interconnect" or "Interconnection" means the provision by Grantee of technical, engineering, physical, financial, and all other necessary components to accomplish, complete, and adequately maintain a physical linking of Grantee's Cable System and Cable Services or any designated Channel or signal pathway thereof, with any other designated cable system or programmer so that cable services of technically adequate quality may be sent to and received from such other systems.
3.39 "Institutional Network" or "I-Net" means Capacity on the Cable System which provides for Signals to and among Institutional Subscribers for use in conducting their business. The network includes all equipment required to make the Capacity available including but not limited to Fiber, coaxial cable, switching, patching, electronic transmitting, receiving, and Signal conversion necessary for effective use of the I-Net.
3.60 "Signal" means any analog or digital electrical or light impulses carried on the Cable System, whether one-way or bi-directional, and which includes any combination of audio, video, voice or data.
Community I-Net Additional Contacts:
MHCRC Network Engineering Consultant
Brian Nordlund
W&H Pacific
(503) 372-3632
MHCRC I-Net/PCN Interconnect Consultant
Thomas Robinson
CBG Communications, Inc.
(610) 889-7470
robinson@cbgcommunications.com
Metropolitan Area
Communications Commission (MACC)
Bruce Crest
Director
(503) 645-7365 , ext. 200
bcrest@maccor.org