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In 1911, Thomas Edison received a peculiar gift from a mining company. It was a solid cubic foot of copper. Although he joked he may use it as a paperweight, those that knew him well were aware that copper was a precious commodity and Edison never seemed to be able to get as much as he required. Lacking the proper resources to get the job done can cripple and even destroy an enterprise. For some of us, a fast internet connection is like Edison’s copper. What we could accomplish if we only had more.
Gig.U is a project in its initial phases. So far, 29 universities have signed up to acquire faster high speed internet connections for their university and surrounding area. They are currently contacting internet companies to investigate what it would take to bring 1 gbps speeds to their campus. What does this 1 gbps mean? It means 1 gigabit per second. In terms you and I can understand, this would be fast enough to download a complete HD movie in just a few seconds. The universities involved are scattered all over the USA, with a concentration in the Northeast. Also participating are the University of Alaska and the University of Hawaii.

Although sometimes the desire for more speed while surfing the internet may seem frivolous, this requirement is more often than not a truly valid need. For those that watch video entertainment online, this information could just as easily be educational. Downloading huge files or uploading them to the cloud is a valid concern for most of us and, although we are sometimes charged extra and disparaged for it, we all feel the need for speed. Who of us wouldn’t save our movies and huge music collections in the cloud if we had fast and stable access to them? It might even slow the sale of the new multi-terabyte drives – or maybe not. If individuals could use it, then schools and businesses certainly need it.

It isn’t difficult to imagine how universities will benefit immediately from increased high speed internet. After all, the internet has its roots in Arpanet, which was intended to connect defense projects at universities and research laboratories across the United States. Although defense is considered an important function of the country, there are many other departments at universities that require fast and efficient means of sharing information. Telecommunications, astronomy and healthcare are all disciplines that require large amounts of data to be transferred and manipulated. Education itself could be enhanced by making lectures available by live stream for those unable to attend in person. Education through video channels is only growing and high speed broadband will only make it easier to use and benefit.

In the business community, there can be great advantages from high speed internet. Businesses with multiple locations will easily benefit from video conferencing and other bandwidth hogging applications. A fast and stable internet may also encourage more businesses to use cloud based applications like office suites where they can share files more easily and collaborate in real time instead of keeping local licenses of all their applications. They can also switch from storage only on their local server, where it often cannot be accessed or is too slow to share with the entire enterprise, to a central location in cyberspace.

With the energy industry growing in importance and scope, more and more information needs to be shared in a quick manner by energy companies. These companies rely heavily on research and collaboration and this requires bandwidth. In addition, many high tech companies share high resolution images that require time to send to others. If bandwidth were not an issue, it would be so much easier. The telecommunications industry is also built upon the fast transmission of massive amounts of data. Healthcare could obviously benefit as well.

There are fringe benefits, too. The area near each university would enjoy high speeds as well, thus attracting more businesses to the area and improving commerce in locations that were, until now, somewhat isolated. America, being an information society, will benefit as a nation. It already appears that the benefits far outweigh the required investments in infrastructure. Keep an eye on this project. Gig.U is going to change the nation at 1 gigabit per second.

Author Bio: Blake Sanders writes tech at broadband comparison site Broadband Expert and specializes in high speed internet, mobile phones, and the latest in wireless internet provider news and information.

PlabanInternetGuest PostIn 1911, Thomas Edison received a peculiar gift from a mining company. It was a solid cubic foot of copper. Although he joked he may use it as a paperweight, those that knew him well were aware that copper was a precious commodity and Edison never seemed to be...Technology News, Gadgets, Tutorial, Freebies