The facade of the UK pavilion optical fibers. Shanghai Expo. Photo: Shutter-j, Flickr
On the Atlantic seabed passing cables and a growing crowd of high-capacity telecommunications. Connections that link Europe with the North and South America and the West African coast, extending to the southern tip of the continent. The growing expansion of optical fiber networks is occurring at an astonishing rate with the addition of technologically advanced infrastructure. This is an opportunity not to waste the archipelago canary.
<--- The world, Europe and, especially, the islands are in a process of radical change in the outlook for economic performance. In the Canary Islands we must move from an economy essentially speculative in nature to other more productive.
insular The economic model we had sought support and development over recent decades has reached the point where it can no longer be viable into the future. The binomial tourism development and residential construction has reached its saturation limit and must evolve to a higher qualification of the offer in the first case and a conversion radical in the second.
global network of telecommunications cables. Source: Telegeogrphy
The continued occupation of the land and the generation of new areas for residential uses are the expression of a way to completely overcome and that leads directly to a radical unsustainability of human life in the archipelago. This is a very difficult situation for everyone. Especially for architects who need to change our goals, procure new tools and find alternative work must necessarily be different from those operating in the recent past.
But there are also some bottlenecks that grips us and hinder our progress towards the future. The most important is that relating to energy dependence and weak electric transmission networks. Here we experience a highly damaging monopoly, which is based on the presence of a single company and its behavior in recent decades in the management of production and distribution of electricity has led to the archipelago to a really dire situation.
The lack of adequate investment commitment to the needs of a rapidly expanding company and the apathy of the authorities to demand a greater effort to the private operator monopoly has deteriorated to an extent inconceivable that should be considered as the most important strategic sector for the future of the Canaries. The existing electricity transmission networks are really insufficient and are the main Achilles heel that has this region at this time. Lines used outpacing the security conditions, continued declines in electricity and various energy zeros occurred in 2010 on the island of Tenerife can illustrate this serious problem.
Other issues that should make us think deeply about our future would be the extreme dependence on food that is outside this region and the growing scarcity of water. Isolated islands in the Atlantic that import more than 90%% of what they consume exemplify a fragile situation in an emergency can clearly become a collective tragedy. However, we prefer not to seriously address these problems and maintain a position inconsistent support to the existing inertia.
But there are other areas that offer promising alternatives and some are exploring smart.
Canalink connection with Iberian Peninsula PENCAN8 cable (yellow and blue respectively)
Almost always, Canary has represented throughout history as a rallying point and transit of goods and people. In the sixteenth century, would experience a boom here as a result of unusual trading be the last European season on the road to the new American lands. The continuous flow of transport ships meant that the islands were a primary strategic space.
Over the centuries this location has always been one of our core and envied assets, a source of comparative advantages to other territories and places. Today, the islands have important infrastructure designed to transport assistance, as are eight airports that channel a flow of more than 25 million passengers annually. We have two magnificent harbors highly competitive platform led by the Light of Gran Canaria and Las Palmas which manages several million TEUs in commodities, so every year.
However, these sectors have a complex administrative situation, authorities and subject to controls that do not depend entirely on local decisions. In some cases it is clearly preventing a smooth and efficient management, appropriate to the needs and interests of their own islands.
There is another sector that has a monopolistic situation is also detrimental to the development of the archipelago. Is that related to telecommunications infrastructure, into and out of the archipelago.
According to our geographical position and conditions of development, many operators have seen these islands as a transit place for telecommunications networks. For our waters, it has been historically some telephone cables, and currently deployed several networks of high capacity fiber optic data transmission fall under the ruthless struggle for control of the markets for telecommunications services between corporations.
Our reference operator until now has been Telefonica of Spain or, in the new name Movistar. Telefónica has condemned in recent years has a single connection to the mainland via a single cable, 8 pence.
Setting the foundation stone of NAPWACI in Granadilla. February 2010. Photo: Miguel Barreto
response, the Cabildo of Tenerife has initiated an alternative strategy for five years at least. It have launched several bets aimed at overcoming this situation is highly detrimental to the island and, by extension, the entire archipelago. All projects are articulated around NAPWACI (Neutral Access Point of West Africa and The Canary Islands) and CANALINK. The first, a project to facilitate the generation of efficient node interconnection of telecommunications lines on the island of Tenerife and the second, a crossover cable between Tenerife and Lisbon in high capacity optical fiber over 100 Megabits per second . Is the strategy called Project generated around Alix leads the Cabildo of Tenerife in a similar position to that of David against the Goliaths powerful multinationals.
These are stakes that are now fully underway. In the case of Canalink already laying has fully realized. The next step is to engage and anchor this new technology parts and items so they can be telematic interconnections between Europe, Africa and America. Thus, we would realize anew and we would assert that promise well for the future that is our position between continents.
The neutral point of access NAPWACI is primarily a storage space, scalable and optimal conditions to house the tools and resources necessary to facilitate the connection point near the maritime connection. The site chosen for this concentration of infrastructure is the site of the Technological Institute of Renewable Energies in Granadilla in the south of the island. One area that has a high capacity link to the necessary energy, both conventional and renewable, thus allowing the supplies necessary in the best conditions of security. At this point, have already begun work to build the first phase, one that will house the first servers to integrate the network.
The attraction that this will mean for businesses antagonists Telefónica in telecommunications is very important and is already reflected in the interest of competitive operators such as British and France Telecom, Vodafone, Tata Communications, Verizon, etc..
Network fiber optic cables to connect the West African. Shuttleworth Foundation (Vers.08/2010)
Tenerife's commitment to achieve an efficient network and high capacity telecommunications is complemented by the laying of a double fiber optic ring that could exploit new accessibilities internally with those which are going to have soon in the island itself. Probably Over the next year 2011 there will be connections, both in the entire island south side, as in the entire metropolitan area.
Canary Access privileged to telecommunication networks very powerful ability to give you the opportunity to establish here an ecosystem of value-added services. The emergence of specialized companies and global access opportunities to generate new economic space for the supply of services of all kinds. Would require bet on the generation of a highly qualified training and renewal of all tissue existing obsolete farming in technology and services.
This segment of the public activities the island has already made an investment commitment of over 110 million € uros, which with good management will probably result in the development of new forms multiplied business. Two conditions would make this effort already under way could bear fruit in a convenient manner that will benefit the island community as a whole. It is necessary to encourage the specialized training of people and also generate the intellectual capacity to take advantage of the opportunities in access to telecommunications. In
the current situation we need new credible promises to guide our collective efforts towards a better future. Promises to overcome restrictions imposed by those who seek to exploit the former advantages in their own exclusive benefit, making our environment in a stifling room, in which individual and collective initiative has been sharply curtailed.
telecommunications companies as well as energy and water distribution utilities calls for whites, are a strategic segment of the economy. In places such as small, isolated islands, while these sectors are strongly intervened and restricted a few operators, it is possible to transform to achieve collective participation in the benefits that can arise from their improvement.
Now I see. A work by the light of Brigitte Kowanz. MUMOK, Vienna. 2010 --->
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