I've read alot of blogs over the past month. Virtually all of them talked about the security at the debates. Local Law enforcement agencies, Federal Agents, Secret Service, and bomb-sniffing dogs were all present for the SC Democratic Debate. At the same time in the background, HTC was providing Data Security. I've heard it said that the Secret Service "let's you see what they want you to see" and that "if see 1 agent, there are other agents close by that you can't see". Using that same thought process, HTC was on-hand as the "Data Secret Service" for the event. We were not visible, but rest assured we were there to protect the integrity of the Communications infrastructure.

While we provided wireless internet coverage, it was not unlimited. We were authenticating users, and providing firewall services. We also worked with the team at CNN to provide VPN services. Throughout the Democratic debate CNN had multiple VPN tunnels active back to their central offices. Sensitive information was encrypted prior to the data traffic "riding" the internet pipe.

CNN must have been impressed with the capabilities HTC provided. It was rumored that Cisco was onsite to gather data for a press release on their Unified Communications Manager Express product. I do know that the production vehicles were using a VoIP solution processing calls using the gigabit internet connection that we provided.

Considering the technology available to CNN, it was nice to observe them take advantage of the solutions HTC provided. Companies can talk about what they can provide. With regards to the Communications needs of the debates, HTC did provide.

At HTC, we'll just let the results do the talking for us...

The South Carolina Democratic Debate has come and gone. As I sit and assess, an old saying from my father comes to mind. I can hear him saying "Son, do it right the first time and you only have to do it once." At HTC that translates as; proper planning and preparation made for a very successful event.

HTC had nine of our employees at the two locations for the event. Security at The Palace was very high. In fact, for a period of time prior to the event, The Palace was emptied to allow security personnel to "sweep the building" to assure secure facilities for the candidates and those in attendance. The physical building and HTC's role as the Official Communications sponsor allowed us more movement than the Republican event. Like the Republican event, we were "confined" to office area external to the theater. Our "confinement area" was selected in case we needed to provide support during the event.

So, like millions of other viewers, we watched the debate on CNN from our little office area. We also brought up CNN via our wireless connection and watched the streaming video from the site. The connections were extremely quick. I had visions of talking with Wolf Blitzer, and trying to see if he would let me ask one of the candidates a question. So much for my dream, but I was proud to be part of the team that provided the technology infrastructure which not only met, but exceeded the standards CNN posed to HTC. HTC has raised the bar for future communications partners.

Meanwhile, the team assigned to Phillips Seafood (A.K.A. the Press Filing Center) was assuring that connectivity was being provided to Media representatives as they posted to their respective blogs and companies throughout the event.

Everything went Great! There were no glitches reported. HTC's systems and technologies were humming along throughout the event. Our 1 Gig internet backbone in place at The Palace was providing wireless connectivity to roughly 100-120 users (from speaking to CNN that would be the majority of the CNN bloggers covering the event). The CNN production vehicles were prepared to stream the video and audio live using the internet should the primary satellite fail. At the Press Filing Center there were roughly 350 wireless connections using the Gig internet backbone. I did make a casual observation that the Democratic event had more laptop users with Broadband Access cards. We had them covered with the COW (Cellsite on Wheels). Remember how I talked about that "preparation thing" earlier...

Oh, by the way, I did get a chance to say "Hi" to Keyshawn Johnson in the lobby after the event. And to top it all off, I finished the evening by meeting Wolf Blitzer. That made my propeller hat really spin. What a cool job!

To borrow a phrase from our friends at Hard Rock Park, it's time for the Democrats to "Rock the House."

Things were a buzz around Phillips Seafood last evening while the communications team from HTC completed the network infrastructure. The team of John Anderson, Kynn Allen, Jason Brown, Chris Todd, Brandon Tyler, Jeff Cannon, Phil Pilot and Brian Salak worked well into the morning hours to make sure that all of the network wiring was correct and that the wireless network was active.

Phillips Seafood is the location for the Press Filing Center for the Democratic Debate; this is were all of the media (with the exception of CNN, who "owns" the debate) will be located. There should be between 400 and 600 Media representatives providing coverage on the SC Democratic Debate. Wireless coverage for so many devices in a concentrated area presented a challenge. All of the Media will be attempting to "publish" stories in a very small window. Living in a "world" of instant access is a given to most. HTC is making it a reality for the SC Democratic Debate.

The users at Phillips Seafood will be riding a 1 Gig connection to the internet using HTC's Bluewave technology. Wireless Access coverage is completely capable of handling 700 plus users. Wired Access will also be provided for those without a wireless device.

So, sit back. Enjoy the Democratic Debate tonight. HTC is on the line for you every day...

I'm sitting in the lobby of The Palace watching the sand sculptors work on the newest version of Mt. Myrtle "the Democratic version". HTC has verified all of the communications and it is All Systems Go!

HTC has spent the majority of the time today verifying systems with the CNN representatives. At The Palace both wireless access and wired internet have been handed off to CNN. Verifying the internet is critical since that medium will serve as backup for video should satellite have issues. Voice lines have been pulled to the necessary areas, and Cellular service has been "beefed-up" through HTC's COW.

Security is now increasing. While I'm writing, I've been asked twice to show my ID. I think I better finish this and get out while the getting is still good.

Besides, I want to go find Wolf Blitzer.

In an earlier blog, I went over the COW or Cellsite On Wheels. It was in place for the Republican Debate, and it has now "changed pastures" and is active and ready for the Democratic Debate.

I'm including another picture, and again offering a Chik-fil-A sandwich to the first 5 people who email me the correct location of the COW.

HTC's wireless network team has the Wireless connectivity online!

I'm sitting in the Theater here at The Palace typing this blog. Enjoying the high speed connectivity that HTC will be providing for the SC Democratic debate.

Just to give everyone some perspective on this project, prior to beginning the wireless build-out it was determined The Palace needed some infrastructure updates to be able to handle the SC Democratic Debate. The experts at HTC were ready for the challenge. With the exception of some office areas, The Palace only had single line telephone wire in place. As the official Communications provider, HTC was poised to handle the infrastructure updates necessary to provide Fiber to The Palace and then provide the internal networking needs of the building. The team at HTC needed to put CAT5 cabling (necessary for network connectivity) and RG-6 cable (necessary for Cable TV) throughout the building. We took the new internal cabling and connected it to the Fiber backbone. We now have a network capable of handling massive amounts of data at amazing speeds. A Gigabit Fiber connection to the internet is in place. Now HTC will use the internal network to deploy the wireless technology. Using technologies from Cisco, Bluesocket, SonicWALL, and HP we will deploy Access Points and a Controller based system that will allow both Guest Access and Secure connectivity based upon a users login credentials. Multiple Controllers will be deployed to insure maximum uptime using "fail-over" capabilities. The Access Points are also physically located to provide maximum coverage and fail-over redundancy.

And guess what! That's only the "half" of it. Now that we've completed all of this at The Palace Theater, we're going to do it all over at Phillips Seafood for the Press/Media Center located there.

Outside of the obvious political differences, the SC Democratic Debate presents many opportunities as compared to the SC Republican Debate. The SC Democratic Debate will be using two physical locations to handle the event. CNN, who is airing the event, and the candidates will be located at The Palace Theater. The Press/Media Filing Center will be located at Phillips Seafood and will house all other media covering the debate.

From HTC's perspective, that is twice the amount of work. Being the Official Communications sponsor, we need to provide communications service to both locations. Each of the two locations will be a mirror of the other. HTC will be providing
- Internet
- Secure Wireless
- Telephone
- Cable TV
- Cellular
to both locations. HTC will also be providing structured wiring inside both locations.

HTC has already completed the Fiber to physically connect these two locations and provide high speed services via our Bluewave network. We can reliably provide Voice, Data, and Cable TV services using a single medium. The future is now! HTC is not talking about it; we're using technology to drive the communications infrastructure for the Democratic debate.

Check back for inside information on how HTC prepares for the SC Democratic Debate.

I wanted to give an update about some of the VPN (Virtual Private Network) services that were "at work" during the Republican Debates. We'll look at this from a very high level to preserve the anonymity of those who used VPN services and the end users security policy.

HTC's Network Engineering made it possible for several companies to bypass the firewall and make direct VPN connections to their central offices using the internet. Using a combination of authentication, encryption, and tunnelling HTC's engineers were able to provide secure connectivity to those companies.

Using VPN connectivity allows users to "appear" to be part of the corporate network and have access to all of the resources of that corporate network. This is the Virtual part, you can be physically sitting at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, but from your PC's standpoint you are sitting at your desk at work.

During the VPN session all Data being sent is encrypted for confidentiality. Packets that are intercepted are indecipherable without the encryption keys. It would be like overhearing someone speaking Chinese and you only understand English. The words mean nothing without an interpreter (the ecryption keys are the interpreter). This is the Private part of the VPN equation. It gives end users the assurance that the correct information arrives at the correct place, at the correct time.

The Network piece of the equation is the internet. The internet physically allows the data to get from one place to the next.

Much the way the Secret Service ushered the Republican candidates to the debate podiums last Thursday, HTC's own "Data Secret Service" made sure that information was safe and secure. We did it for the Republican Debate. We can do it for you.

The SC Republican debate is now history. Wanted to give everyone an update from HTC's view.

HTC had six of our employees on-site for support, should it be necessary. Security was very high. In fact, we had trouble getting the HTC employees supporting our technologies into the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. Passing police checkpoints to enter Myrtle Beach Convention Center properties. Media passes, more checkpoints, and metal detectors. Local Law Enforcement, SLED, and Federal Agents. Finally, we were ushered into secure area where were to remain. Nothing glamourous for us. If support was needed we would be escorted on a needs basis. All systems had been verified so everyone was confident about the technologies deployed.

Early after arriving there was an issue with an ISDN line. This happened to be the circuit used for transmitting the FOX News Radio signal. Within 30 minutes, we had the problem corrected. Everything else worked fantastic. The wireless technology deployed confirmed between 350 and 400 devices connected, and the Gigabit internet pipe just kept humming along.

On a personal note, we found out later why our area was so secure. We were "in one of the paths" to the candidates "green rooms". Ron Paul, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani and there respective political entorages offered a "Hello" as they passed by (Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee obviously came in from different entrances). I even stepped out to shake John McCain's hand when he passed. Pretty cool!

Ever heard anyone talk about POTS? POTS stands for Plain Old Telephone Service. Nothing fancy, just place and receive calls. In the age of new fangled technologies, POTS is sometimes forgotten. The act of simply picking up a phone and getting dial tone is very important to a fax machine or someone needing dial-up access. Don't laugh, there are many people who don't have access to high speed connectivity like HTC's Netracer service. Fax machines, for the most part, and dial-up modems depend on POTS.

For the Republican Debate HTC has provided additional POTS phone capabilities to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. HTC is delivering an additional 100 POTS lines for use primarily in the Media Filing Center. The Media Filing Center is a designated area for those "covering" the Debate. Wireless Network connectivity is available. POTS, for Fax machines, dial-up connectivity and voice calls will be provided in this area. Cable TV feeds are also provided so the representatives can view the debate.

Remember, those viewing the debate live won't have access to anything except what their eyes can see. As you cross security checkpoints to the debate viewing area Cell phones and capture devices are NOT allowed. The technologies deployed by HTC as the Official Communications provider for the SC Presidential Debates are critical to a successful event.

And... yes, you can still use a POTS line to make a phone call.
E.T. did when he "phoned home".
Maybe, I should call home too; I wonder who Mom's going to vote for?