[gurps] Re: Internet on blue planet and like worlds

[Kurt Feltenberger]

David Scheidt wrote:
> That's not very long distance.  Nor is it very high speed.  Nor is it
> terribly reliable, as directional antennas are sensitive to alignment
> issues (and as range goes up, so does this problem.)  Things have
> improved, sure.  But if it made sense, would T and MCI have turned
> down all their existing (and fully depreciated!) MW backbone?  I've
> got my doubts.  Remember, in the same time period installed fibre has
> had its capacity increase by several orders of magnitude.
>
> Wireless makes all sort of sense for short distances, (relative) low
> speed, and mobile use.
> It doesn't make sense for point-to-point use, in the general case.
>   

Having been in the wireless world as well as the wired world (cable, Ts 
and OCs, dark fiber, fiber ring, and wireless), your argument is 
somewhat simplistic.  No single technology is best for all cases.  In 
some scenarios it's better to go wireless than it is any other 
technology due to geographic considerations.  In others, fiber ring 
makes the best sense.  If the world in question is a water world, you're 
going to need some very specialized deployment and maintenance craft to 
support any sort of hardwire connection between settlements.  Using 
wireless you can go up to a satellite in geosync, around to the 
destination, and back down.  Or, if there's suitable land masses, put 
towers up and do direct point to point.  If the settlements are close 
together, tens to a scores of miles apart, then perhaps a cable would 
make sense. 

Again, you don't lock yourself into one particular type of technology; 
you select the best tool for the job.

In the case of the big telcos dropping their microwave services, it 
could be a number of reasons.  Technology isn't static and the fiber of 
30+ years ago was much more expensive than it is today.  In the span of 
twelve years I saw our local plant go from copper to limited fiber, to 
100% fiber.  We went from selling more copper circuits to more wireless 
to a balance, to a predominance of cable modem services. 

Before comparing how things are today, compare how they were 30 or 40 
years ago, that's the data the network planners were using at the time 
to make their infrastructure choices.

-- 
Kurt Feltenberger
kurt at thepaw.org/kfeltenberger at yahoo.com // http://www.teotwawki.net

“Before today, I was scared to live, after today, I'm scared I'm not living enough."  - Me