Culture of light

1994/12/01 Aizpurua Sarasola, Joxerra Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Komunikazioak

It is a science that arises from the union between telematics, telephony and computing. For a long time it has been used exclusively for the transmission of computer data, since with the available means nothing else could be done.

In the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country natural gas is growing in number. Numerous streets and roads have been excavated and drilling to introduce the pipes. However, there are very few people who know that in the pipeline the pipes are entering fiber optic network.

Optical fiber is a material used for communications. Information about this medium (computer data, movies, phone interviews, etc.) for transport, the information becomes clear and when it reaches the destination runs the reverse. Optical fiber has two differences from conventional copper cable. On the one hand, the one that circulates through the cable is clear and, since it is not known in nature a body that exceeds the speed of light, the speed of circulation of information is the maximum achievable in nature. On the other hand, there is the ability to circulate, that is, it is practically impossible to produce obstructions of information, so and by the aforementioned characteristic, it can be said that optical fibers offer information a real highway.

In view of the possibilities offered by optical fiber for communication and, therefore, for development, the Basque Government created the company Euskalnet, dedicated to communications infrastructure. One of the first tasks of this company was the deployment of the fiber optic network in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, which already connects the three capitals of the Basque autonomous community.

The exploitation of the networks has already begun with the connection of the services of the Basque Government in Bilbao, Vitoria and San Sebastián. From here to a couple of years will connect the companies to the network and, finally, to five years approximately, the private houses. From this network, in addition to telephony and television services, relations with banks, shopping in stores or services of electronic products (electronic encyclopedias, computer programs, video games, etc.) will also be offered.

We will pay according to mark a bit counter that will be located at the entrance of the house, as we pay water or gas.

Thanks to this infrastructure, the Basque Autonomous Community can become a pioneer in the field of electronic information in Europe and its reflection not only in the economy but also in social habits. Since the information that will circulate on the network will depend on supply and demand, Basques will have to make a special effort to be able to offer the services also in Basque. If not, we can be at the gates of another cultural colonization and the turn can be the hardest of those we have suffered in history.

Efforts to provide services in Basque must be carried out jointly by public and private administrations, so along with generic studies, the services available, although in principle humble, must be launched.

We are facing a new culture and the Basques are not poorly situated. So let's take the opportunity.