Tech and 9/11: Powering the Future Now

To say that Sept. 11, 2001 is a day that changed the world is an understatement.

I remember leaving in the morning for a client's location, and telling my ten year old daughter happy birthday, thinking it was just another day of work. Within minutes of arrival my cell phone went crazy with calls about the Internet being down, and news of the twin towers being hit by airplanes from 20+ clients. I started my search for answers and hit road block after road block as the Internet was being blocked by too much traffic.

The internet went into a Denial of Service-like attack—it was being flooded by millions worldwide with simple requests on news sites and governmental centers. I soon got cell overloads when calling back clients, and the phone network was also overloaded. I told my client I would return once I could find out what happened and made a swift return home to watch on the TV what everyone has replayed over and over again—the twin towers collapsing—on CNN.

Now, let’s move forward 10 years to see how the tech world has fixed computer security, Internet and our phone systems.

The software world, mainly the security world, has seen the most growth due to this attack on the US. Our software anti-virus applications are now more aggressive when watching our computers. They watch in- and out-bound data, sniffing away for items that just don’t look right, and alert and repair without us even knowing they are working.

Now the sad news is our Internet and phone systems are no better than 10 years ago. The systems, granted, are faster, but that is due mainly to compression and not to capacity. The wireless cell area has added more capacity, but again, if you try and call a land line during a system-stressed time, you’ll be looking at the same issues as you did 10 years ago.

What is the answer? Well frankly, like our power grid, our tech-wired grid is old—50 years old and running on the same copper lines used in 1950. Is the answer cable, or fiber optic lines? I think we need to look hard at the aged power grid (which is now being upgraded with the help of you and me with higher rates).

There is a technology developed by Intel whereby digital data can ride down the power grid lines, just like cable and copper Telco lines do today. I think we need to ask our congressmen to make sure that our aged Telco and Cable providers can tap on to this new stream of wiring. Just think, maybe one day we could have everything coming into the home on one wire, now wouldn’t that be grand.

I think one day (and it is coming soon) our need for information will overload our current system, forcing us to look at power grid ethernet. But why wait? Start talking to others about moving toward these technologies today, and talk to your elected officials, big and small, because now is the time. It’s cheaper to do it now than try it later.