August 6, 2008 9:45 AM
Announcing The Inaugural Lafayette CampFiber
One great frustration for advocates of fiber has long been the underutilization of the capacity full fiber networks deliver. Most applications don't require that much bandwidth, and most developers don't yet seem to be thinking in terms of what's possible in a world where bandwidth scarcity transforms into bandwidth abundance.
Well it's time we shift that paradigm by announcing the world's first CampFiber.
Born from the idealistic model of a BarCamp, which is an ad hoc unconference for open source developers where the attendees are also the presenters, a CampFiber is a free and open event for developers, programmers, and entrepreneurs to come together, learn about the capabilities of a full fiber network, and discuss/brainstorm the next generation of big bandwidth applications.
The first CampFiber is set to be held in Lafayette, LA on October 4th. Lafayette, as you'll remember, is in the process of building one of the fastest residential networks in the country, where in addition to 10Mbps up and down being the lowest speed broadband available, every subscriber will also gain access to a free 100Mbps intranet through which they can communicate with other people on the network.
This kind of a bandwidth-rich environment is perfect for developing new applications, especially when you combine it with the dynamic computing power available from the Abacus Data Exchange through their LiquidIQ broadband fabric computing solution.
The Lafayette CampFiber will be an opportunity for local developers to come together and hear from LUS about the capabilities of the network and Abacus about the capabilities of LiquidIQ.
The event will also feature a local leaders roundtable where representatives from education, government, healthcare, and business will sit down, share their pain points, and provide a wishlist for functions they wish they had applications to fill in the hopes of sparking the imagination of developers to create substantial apps that improve society rather than just another YouTube.
And included in the festivities will be a session on VC 101, which will educate budding entrepreneurs on the opportunities to raise capital to fund the businesses that will make these ideas a reality.
I'd like to thank LUS and Abacus for their sponsorship of this event. The goals we're setting out to achieve are manifold:
- Inspire local developers to dream up the next generation of the Internet
- Raise awareness across the state and country of the opportunities to be found in Lafayette for developers
- To help Lafayette prepare itself to take full advantage of the capacity they're putting in the ground
- And, ultimately, to establish a model that can be taken to other fiber communities across the US
To learn more keep an eye on this site.
If you're going to be in Lafayette Oct. 4th and have interest in developing the next generation of Internet apps, you can register for the event for free here.
Or just continue following along here on App-Rising.com as I track our progress and document our hopeful successes.