The program is intended to extend broadband service to what is known as the "middle mile," which can connect to institutions like schools and hospitals, and the "last mile" — homes and businesses — that big Internet providers have bypassed because the expected revenue was too small to justify the big investments needed.
"This is about the middle mile," says Gogel. "This is about innovation".
"With so many companies focusing on the last mile in particular, you need some companies focused on the first mile, or middle mile, or second to last mile," Lewis said.
But instead of focusing on the consumer, as many smart grid companies do, Current's niche is what Gogel describes as the "middle mile"–local electricity networks that consist of power substations and distribution lines.
And the money providers would have to spend building the "middle mile" infrastructure to connect major service branches to houses in low-population small towns is simply not worth the return they'd receive in new customers.
The Last Mile of the Internet In a technical brief, "Front-End Optimization on the Akamai Intelligent Platform," it shows a graph on the web pages loading in terms of back-end (10%) or database calls time to the middle mile and front-end last mile (90% combined) "delivering content to the end user".
In the middle of miles and miles of thorn bush stand two huts about 100 feet apart, one with a green and yellow Kulmiye flag flapping from a stick flagpole, the other with a solid green UDUB flag.
But Facebook Aquila, as well as OneWeb satellites, can complement SuperTower because they provide middle-mile connectivity, while SuperTower is meant for the last mile.
Kim also tells me that the service uses "a UDP-variant to maximize throughput for last-mile and middle-mile specialized routing".
Up to 100 Udelv ADVs will be deployed in 2019 for last and middle-mile delivery on public roads in several cities throughout the country, the company said.
