Gigabit Is So Passe

By FRED MCCLIMANS
Network World, 04/01/99

Everybody knows that the shortest distance between
two points is a straight line, right?  So why do we
insist on building networks that go in every direction
BUT a straight line?  Well there may be a solution
to this problem right around the corner.

For years now, we've been trying to develop faster
methods of transmitting information. Ever since Bob
Metcalfe first gathered enough ether to make an
Ethernet, we've been upping the speeds of our
networks, from 1M bit/sec to 10 to 1000. We went
from frame-based networks to official frame relay and
then Cell Relay. We developed STM, ATM, and now
are on the verge of TTM (Tachyon Transmission
Mode).

TTM is a new technology, developed by my good
friend and notable network scientist Steven Taylor.
TTM is based on the theory that using tachyon
particles (which can theoretically travel faster than the
speed of light) over fiber optic cables would allow
messages to be transmitted so fast they would be
received prior to their being sent (at least over short
distances). Will TTM work? Perhaps. And if it does,
not only could we transmit the entire contents of every
book ever written in mere milliseconds, we could
potentially route the circuit back to its source, resulting
in the book's contents arriving before it was
transmitted or even written (remember that tachyon
particles travel faster than the speed of light, which
according to Einstein should slow or reverse time).

But even those closest to the development of this new
technology agree that it is probably at least 24 to 36
months away from practical application and mass
deployment within the LAN. The estimated time for
deployment within the WAN is slightly longer (a
complete guide to TTM can be found in the public
forum at www.webtorials.com).

So what do we do while we wait for TTM? The
answer may come from a new firm TransGlobal
Direct, Ltd. This hot start-up, based in the Caymen
Islands, has taken the direct approach to networking.
On the theory that the shortest distance between any
two locations is a straight line, TGD has developed a
new technique for running large bundles of fiber optic
cable through, rather than around, the Earth. By
tunneling a semidirect line, TGD can cut up to 36% of
the transmission distance for a circuit between New
York and Tokyo - not even taking into account the
zigzag routes we take just getting out of each city to
the nearest transoceanic cable.

This new technology is based on recent advances by a
joint team of DuPont and Monstanto engineers and
uses the latest in Teflon-coated rayon fibers. Unlike
prior technologies which could not withstand the heat
of the magma layer (just under the Earth's crust), the
new technology combines a tough outer sheath of
Teflon coating and an extremely strong mesh of
heat-resistant Rayon which envelopes the fiber optic
strands.

The costs of deploying this new system are not low,
and TGD has raised an estimated $23.7 trillion for the
task. Technically, the biggest risk is the Boring
Automated Drone with Auto Sensing Steering
(BAD-ASS) which actually bores through the crust
and navigates through the magma and around the inner
core (which is too tough for even the Biggest
BAD-ASS to bore through). Because of the "flow" of
magma (much like a slow tidal current), there have
been some difficulties in estimating the actual "egress"
point of the BAD drone during the boring process,
something that engineers hope to solve with a new
GPS-based ASS module.

However, this "around the core" design constraint is
actually a blessing of sorts since, as we know from
Einstein's Theory of Relativity, the photons in the fiber
should accelerate as they move closer to the core and
should benefit from a slingshot effect as they go
around the core - much like comets and the sun -
even further reducing the transit time. Of course, this
will raise the cost of the egress receivers slightly at the
other end since catching a photon traveling faster than
the speed of light (even taking into account the slower
speed of light through the fiber optic medium) is
somewhat akin to catching a 9mm bullet with a
catcher's mitt.

The initial deployment of TGD's fiber routes is
scheduled to begin next month for the first
Sub-Terrainian Underground Fiber Information
Transport (STUFIT-1). The full system is expected to
be declared fully operational on April 1 of next year.
At that time, it is possible that the initial TTM
prototypes could be operational, raising the possibility
of a marriage of the ultimate transmission technology
with the ultimate in shortest path connectivity.

Until next April 1st, I'd suggest getting to know some
of the executives over at TGD. This hot firm's
business plan calls for them to corner the infrastructure
market for voice over Internet long-distance calling by
the year 2010, making them a bona fide Internet
company (we anticipate that they will change their
name to TGD.com shortly). With an expected loss of
over $2 trillion expected this month alone, and a
positive cash flow not expected until 2020, TGD's
IPO next month could rival those of Amazon.com and
eBay combined.