Gigabit Nation

Forward-thinking people in five U.S. cities hit the bleeding-edge of innovation this past weekend while answering the question, “what can we do with a gig?” The future of gig apps looks particularly bright according to French telecom company, Orange, which hosted this first-ever multi-city hackathon. Will Barkis, Technologist for Orange Silicon Valley, gives us a rundown of some of the interesting applications and inventive solutions that can impact education, healthcare, entertainment and business. Those participating in GigHacks represent communities with citywide gigagit networks and those with plans on the drawing board.      San Francisco, CA Orange GigaStudio paired with several Bay Area firm to leverage gig technology with a focus on online music collaboration, 360 video, VR use cases and video chat.  Kansas City, MO & KS Teams formed to build pilots in virtual and augmented reality for the classroom, Internet of Things, cyber-physical systems for public safety and civic engagement, digital he