A Word From Thom Greco

These times are very exciting. The way we communicate with each other is becoming multi-dimensional with the convergence of voice, data and video. Broadband properties of fiber to the edge (the last mile) enables streaming video which gives the end user interactive real-time high definition video, video on demand and 200 channels of high definition cable to the home and this can be done globally. The speed at which all this digital information reaches the edge is one of the hardest frontiers of communicating to accomplish with success. Reaching the edge with such speed and success was the very intent of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. 

Wilkes Barre was the hometown of the pioneer of the breakthrough of long distance with William McGowan of MCI fame. The cable industry was pioneered in this area of Pennsylvania and Wilkes Barre was the first city where HBO was introduced. G Net CommCo will pioneer local telephony, cable and video, interactive learning, and medical applications with the breakthrough of local broadband access right here in Wilkes Barre, creating the first Fibercity and CyberFibercity in America.

Forbes Magazine (Forbes.com Smokestack Region Connects With Net Economy May 18, 2000) recognized our project " the most interesting proposal is the idea of threading fiber optic cables through the pipes that once carried heat generated by the Steam Heat Authority. Forbes continues, A fiber-based metropolitan network would link downtown businesses to the Web at better than broadband speeds. Wilkes Barre could end up one of the most wired towns in the country" . 

A fully optical network will be created utilizing the abandoned Wilkes Barre City Steam heat pipes, manholes and central steam plant and access to all the buildings in a twenty-block grid. Fiber that will reach speeds of OC 192 (the speed at which data will travel, your internet access right now is about a megabit and this will be at terabit speeds which is two million (2,000,000) times faster, the digital applications which will be available at these speeds are still being developed in the lab) will be the backbone of the network. Varying speeds will be taken to the desktop, retail store, classroom, courthouse and home. The unique profile of the twenty block area that this grid of fiber accesses gives a perfect prototypical city to enable the development of the future digital applications and software platforms that will exist 5 to 10 years from now and it will exist now, in this beta-community. The broadband digital applications will be years ahead of all other cities and the uses will not be in a lab but in actual use. 

Currently, in addition to the Wilkes Barre Fibercity grid, fiber is being run throughout the State of Pennsylvania and other neighboring States. We will have a POP (point of presence) in over 25 Pennsylvania cities and over 30 neighboring out of State cities. This backbone will emanate from Wilkes Barre like a long legged spider into all these metropolitan areas reaching speeds of OC 192. This presence gives the Wilkes Barre Fibercity tremendous presence and makes its unique digital applications and software available in speeds unlike any other current situation. This proprietary network will revolutionize communications and truly represents the technology advance to the consumer and business which was the heart of the competition that the Telecommunication Act of 1996 intended.

The Fibercity will use the network within the City of Wilkes Barre and prioritize the potential customer base creating a Smart City which will avail itself as a beta-community for technology. The unique access to every building in the City grid will light up the buildings, which include governmental buildings, universities, colleges, high schools, hospitals, storage facilities and the creation of IXP s (Internet eXchange Provider) in this City. 

Beyond the City's customer base, through the use of a fiber optic spur and the evolving Internet Protocol (IP), the network created in the City of Wilkes Barre can be accessed by anyone on the Internet, which gives us a global customer base. 

The creation of this CyberFibercity or a Virtual City gives another dimension to the use of the network and creates another revenue model. Additionally, this network will reach over 50 cities and create Competitive Local Exchange carrier (CLEC) with a presence in each market with a unique difference of an optical backbone and the ability to discount to the consumer at a savings of over 50%. Demand for data transmission capacity is doubling every eight months, while Internet usage is doubling every four months. 

The potential revenues from within the City will be derived from the dot coms, internet based companies, software companies, online e-commerce companies who will take advantage of the strategic location of Wilkes Barre to the mass of the population (1/3 of the Nation s population is within five hours of Wilkes Barre) for delivery from a regional warehouse for Internet generated National sales and data storage. The huge pipes that will be developed in this project will make it a natural location for the ASP s (Application Service Provider), ISP s and IXP (Internet eXchange Provider). For further information on this technology please visit Telephony Magazine. 

The State of Pennsylvania is the 48th of 50 to retain their student s education within the State and the 48th of 50 to create jobs to satisfy these graduates. We will turn this around with the statewide economic impact and the creation of this beta-community unlike any other in the Nation. 

The educational applications will be tremendous. We will create the classroom of the future . Interactive learning has been proven to be the most successful way to learn and this broadband availability to the home and the classroom gives a whole new presence to a computer and distance learning. G Net CommCo in conjunction with McGowan School of Business, Kings College and Wilkes University will create the first fully digital Law School. Interactive real-time high definition screens will be installed at the school in Wilkes Barre as well as a Pennsylvania law school to bring accredited graduate school to the suburban and blighted areas. Quality graduate degree programs will be available from the top graduate schools. Wilkes Barre will be able to offer top-notch graduate education to satisfy the need for the high technology company s employees. It will deliver a very affordable education, as 90% of the cost of the degree programs is the facility and faculty, which cost increase in this classroom of the future will be negligible. This distance learning brings a new source of revenue to the leading graduate schools and local institutions. Finding a solution to skyrocketing tuitions is very material to an educated Nation. 

Every home will have a computer. The digital divide will be conquered in Wilkes Barre and in any market that the fiber optic network reaches as we develop a network computer and ASP. This computer availability creates a network education opportunity for single mothers and others who seek high school equivalency diploma classes from home, training at home for computer/software/technology applications thus training the workforce. 
With the rollout of Internet II and the development of the IP Version VI the Fibercity applications, software platforms and streaming video will be available globally to anyone that has access to the Internet and DSL thus giving way to this CyberFibercity . 

This project has received the support of the State of Pennsylvania. The Office of Economic Community Development has granted money to conduct the feasibility of this project. A renaissance of the economic base of Northeast Pennsylvania will begin in Wilkes Barre and spread to the entire State. The job creation directly related to this project will reach 2000 jobs and indirectly creates tens of thousands of high paying technology wages. This project will catapult Pennsylvania to the National arena of the high technology industry and Internet based businesses. As this fiber optic network grows no other State will have this capability and puts us in heart of the East Coast Silicon Crescent . For further information on this technology please visit Telephony Magazine.

As this project proceeds, G Net CommCo, Inc. will identify the electronics needed to support the planned use of the network, matched with properly sized fiber communications lines and electronics, which would include the protocols, and the network design. Some of the top names in this industry are helping G Net CommCo make this project a reality. Some of those advising include Cisco, KPMG, Intelect, Scientific Atlanta, ANTEC, Fujitsu, and Henkels & McCoy. All design considerations are important in the overall demands of the planned network and future growth. In general, we will run the new fiber optic throughout a 20 city block are encompassing all major businesses, schools, hospitals and government buildings. In addition, to the existing facilities the implementation of "smart buildings" will begin from private investors attracted by the potential of the broad-bandwidth fiber optic infrastructure. IXP s (Internet eXchange Provider) hosting dot coms and any industry needing fast speeds and access, ASP s (Application Service Providers/ providing software for your computer on line with automatic updates which you pay for as you need) and network computers (you need not buy a computer, with a keyboard and a screen and access to our grid we provide the hard drive for storage and the software), close the digital divide, bring the greatest minds in this new technology to our area and once again make Pennsylvania one of the most important States in this next economic and technological revolution. 

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