Geoff Daily over at Apprising posted an informative article about Intranet data traffic on a municipal (fiber) broadband network [1]. He spoke with the CEO of Packetfront, Matt Wenger, who gave him some interesting insights into the traffic flow shift they experienced in Vasteras, Sweden. I've spoken at length with Matt about Packetfront's interest in documenting what's happening around the globe in these community and municipal networks, I'm glad to see that Geoff has got a jump-start on this effort. As many readers know, Sweden has been making phenomenal progress in achieving universal affordable broadband access (something that's still a pipe dream throughout the United States). Meanwhile, here's the rest of Geoff's article:

Internet Reinforces Local Bonds

So often when you talk about the benefits of the Internet the conversation focuses on its ability to break down the barriers of distance, to unite disparate friends and relatives, to provide access to resources not available in your local community.

But there seems to be a growing understanding that the ultimate benefits that the Internet brings to society may be found not in tying together things that are far apart but instead enhancing the relationships that exist locally.

For example, this Wired essay [2] entitled "How Email Brings You Closer to Guy in the Next Cubicle" explores how while broadband should enable anyone to do anything from anywhere that what it's actually doing is putting a premium on living in concentrated areas. The reason for this is the efficiencies the Internet can bring to day-to-day communications with the people you interact with regularly.

I can personally attest that this is the case for me. While I do email a lot with my parents and friends back in Minnesota as well as with colleagues across the country and world, when I look back over my inbox I have far more emails sent to and from people who live within a few miles of me.

But this capacity of broadband to unite communities is perhaps best highlighted by one of the most stunning facts I've heard in a long time.

In catching up last week with Matt Wenger, CEO of Packetfront America--Packetfront enables the creation of open access, multi-service networks--we got to talking about Vasteras, Sweden, arguably the fullest realization of what an open access, multi-service network can be.

The fact that blew me away was about them and how the deployment of a fiber network impacted their use of broadband.

Before this community fiber network was put in place, more than 80% of the traffic on local networks was outbound, pulling in and sending out information over the world wide web.

After the fiber network came into being? That ratio basically flipped as now more than 80% of the bandwidth being consumed is for moving data around within the Vasteras network, so neighbors talking to neighbors rather than users pulling in data from all over the Internet.

It should be noted that just because the percentage dropped, doesn't mean people on that network are consuming outlying Internet content less. Instead, it's a sign of just how massively demand for bandwidth in-network has grown, literally more than a thousandfold.

This trend is totally and utterly remarkable to me.

Basically everything on the Internet to date has taken a server-in-the-sky mentality where you're almost constantly sending and receiving data out over the world wide web.

To think that that paradigm has now fundamentally shifted in communities like Vasteras is one of most under-discussed potential outcomes of deploying a fiber network, and one that demands further exploration.

But never fear! While I don't yet have the answers to what's driving all that demand for bandwidth, my curiosity has officially been piqued and I'm on the hunt for more information.

Until then I'll leave you with this thought: the deployment of fiber networks can and should be considered the best opportunity we've had in a long time to not just hook people up to the global economy but also to reinvigorate the ties between people in their local communities.

Anyone deploying fiber, big or small, public or private, should be keeping this thought in mind, as otherwise we may end up missing out on one of the great unsung benefits of what broadband and the Internet enables us to realize.