Entourage-Talkers, It is interesting to hear from a professor of logistics management. It would be comforting to be able to understand the issue by applying simple commodity analogies.
Unfortunately, bandwidth (that is, telecom capacity) is not evenly distributed in space. The "overbuilt" national infrastructure doesn't mean much to my 56K modem which achieves only 33K on our rural telephone lines. Also, excess capacity is not evenly distributed in time. At any particular moment, (say, the moment when _I_ am downloading a security update from Microsoft), there may be a notable deficit of capacity; at 3 the following morning, there may be more than plenty. So the "logistics" of bandwidth and its "wastability" may be hard to generalize. -- Joshua On 3/19/02 2:50 PM, "Christian M. M. Brady" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Friends, > > I forwarded our discussion to my brother, who is an expert in the field of > logistics. He had this to offer. I would also add that NPR did a piece this > weekend concerning how the telecommunications industry in the US over > estimated the current demand and over built the infrastructure and so we are > no where close to using available bandwidth (and thus they are also in > financial difficulties). > > Cb > > For you reading pleasure: > > On 3/19/02 2:32 PM, "Steve Brady" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> HMmm >> >> Having been sent this piece of email, I cannot help but want to contribute as >> well. >> >> See, apparently the individual who truly believes in "wasting" bandwidth also >> believes that he has cornered the market on what is "needed." One can only >> surmise that this individual, at every turn, seeks to reduce the bandwidth >> required for all communications by practicing complete and total compression >> of all text, and never, at any time, sees the need to share a news-story, >> photograph, or heaven forbid, family video clip, over the internet. >> >> One has to find oneself wondering if one can "WASTE" bandwidth (treating it >> as >> a commodity, like wasting paper, or wasting water) can we also "STORE" >> bandwidth? >> >> I would argue that by NOT USING available bandwidth, we are in a sense >> wasting >> it, that is, by allowing an available resource to go untapped, and one that >> cannot be stored or regained, we are passing on opportunities for >> communication that perhaps could have been quite useful otherwise. >> >> Until the resource is "max'd out" and completely leveled, there can only be >> "Wasting the resource" through lack of use, not through use. >> >> This is exactly the problem the airlines, and other "service" organizations >> face. Their product is a perishable commodity, and they try to acheive >> MAXIMUM utilization of their resource. When the airplane takes off any empty >> seats are "unavailable assets" that can no longer be sold. >> >> Just some food for thought, from someone who thinks quite a bit about these >> things... >> >> STEPHAN P. BRADY, Ph.D. >> Assistant Professor of Logistics Management > > Cb > cbrady @ tulane.edu -- To unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/entourage-talk%40lists.letterrip.com/> old-archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/entourage-talk%40lists.boingo.com/>
