ALA OITP Explains How Fiber to the Library Could Be Broadband Solution

"Future-proof" technology isn't cheap, but could be boosted by stimulus funds

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 6/30/2009

• Much faster than other broadband options
• Could hasten more services featuring video
• Tips on deployment and cost

As high-bandwidth Internet applications increase, from online job training to e-government, fiber optic technology is the best solution for libraries to serve users over the long term, says the Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) of the American Library Association (ALA). 

OITP’s new guide, “Fiber to the Library: How Public Libraries Can Benefit from Using Fiber Optics for their Broadband Internet Connections,”explains the benefits of “fiber to the library” and advises libraries to seek fiber—which isn’t cheap—in their proposals for federal broadband stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Notably, fiber provides "future-proof" connectivity, point out authors John Windhausen, ALA consultant, and Marijke Visser, ALA policy analyst. “The ALA encourages every library to explore a fiber-based solution to their broadband needs – especially now because of the opportunity afforded by the federal broadband stimulus funding,” added Carrie Lowe, director of OITP’s Program on Networks.

Adding services
While fiber can help libraries meet current bandwidth needs, it could also help them go beyond basic services. “With reliable, high-speed connections, libraries are incorporating interactive Web-based applications to engage their users,” the report states. “Libraries are adding podcasts of book talks, video-on-demand, geo-tagging of local landmarks, patron tagged catalogs, and tweets of the latest fiction.”

The report notes that “a single real-time high-definition video stream over an Internet connection may require 2.5 Mbps of service, which is larger than the entire T1 connection many libraries have today.”

The fiber advantage
In contrast to other technologies, such as DSL, cable modems, wireless, or satellites, fiber optic technology offers almost unlimited capacity, the report says. While most non-fiber technologies offer data carrying capacity from 1 Megabit per section (1 Mbps) to 200 Mbps, a single strand of fiber can carry at least 10 Gigabits (10,000 Megabits), and a single cable offers virtually unlimited capacity—the limits depend on the electronic equipment at either end of the cable.

Fiber optic cables are used for long distance telephone and Internet traffic, and many municipalities deploy fiber for schools, governments, and hospitals. Some forward-thinking countries (Japan, Korea) have begun national buildouts.

Testimony in favor
The report cites testimony about the benefits of fiber:

Before we made the move, we had frequent daily periods when our ILS [Integrated Library System] was down for hours at varying branches because there was insufficient bandwidth… If your branch had not been able to connect to [the ILS] during the extremely busy after school hours you were usually not going to be able to connect until after 5:30 each day when branches started closing for the day. Branches had to write down circulation information and enter it after peak network hours.

One non-profit fiber company described what one of their libraries is able to do now that they installed fiber: “the library is partnering with a state employment and training agency (name withheld) and setting up video conferencing for job interviews. So people come to the library to practice and do actual interviews.”

How to get fiber
The report offers four scenarios for fiber network deployment:

• Leasing a Fiber Connection from a Commercial Provider
• Using a Competitive Bid Process to Award a Contract to Serve Multiple Libraries
• Participating in a Municipal Fiber Network
• Working with a State Research and Education Network

As for costs, the report states that the upfront costs to the fiber provider often fall in the range of $20,000 to $40,000 in urban or suburban areas, but “cost estimates varied significantly.” If a fiber network is already deployed nearby, the costs of extending that network are less. There are also several kinds of maintenance expenses.

Beyond assistance from the federal stimulus legislation, E-rate discounts could also be used to finance the connection, according to the report.