4 ms·

Why doesn't another big company step up and lay down its own copper/fiber into homes? Sure, it will be a BIG investment but the return should be awesome. I am s

Why doesn't another big company step up and lay down its own copper/fiber into homes? Sure, it will be a BIG investment but the return should be awesome. I am sure it will be worthwhile in at least some areas like NYC, Bay Area, Boston etc.

cooldeal 15y ago
Can you fathom how much it will cost to dig up the streets, lay fiber and fill them back in? Will cities even allow that, due to the impediment to the traffic?
- nitrogen 15y ago
  It's been managed before for fiber deployments in northern Europe. I remember seeing a perspective on Ars Technica from Amsterdam, with a photo of a sidewalk tiles neatly removed and replaced without damage: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/03/how-amsterdam-was-wired-for-open-access-fiber.ars http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/03/how-amsterda... So, it can be done.
- tomgallard 15y ago
  In the UK there've been some pilot deployments of fibre using sewers ( e.g.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7202396.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7202396.stm ). Avoids the need to dig up roads and keeps the cost of deployment low
loungin 15y ago
It's a small drop in the bucket, but at least a start somewhere. Google: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Fiber http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Fiber
soult 15y ago
Because as soon as a new player wants to connect a town with fiber (or the town decides to lay fiber on it's own) suddenly the big telcos are very interested in also laying fiber in that town, ruining any chance of profitability. There are even cases of telcos suing towns that tried to lay their own fiber.[0] I know this is an unpopular view in the United States, so please do not downvote me for stating my opinion, but I believe that phone/internet service should not have been privatized in the first place. 0: http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/09/telco-to-town-were-suing-you-because-we-care.ars http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/09/telco-to-town-wer...

cooldeal 15y ago

Can you fathom how much it will cost to dig up the streets, lay fiber and fill them back in? Will cities even allow that, due to the impediment to the traffic?

nitrogen 15y ago
It's been managed before for fiber deployments in northern Europe. I remember seeing a perspective on Ars Technica from Amsterdam, with a photo of a sidewalk tiles neatly removed and replaced without damage: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/03/how-amsterdam-was-wired-for-open-access-fiber.ars http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/03/how-amsterda... So, it can be done.
tomgallard 15y ago
In the UK there've been some pilot deployments of fibre using sewers ( e.g.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7202396.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7202396.stm ). Avoids the need to dig up roads and keeps the cost of deployment low

loungin 15y ago

It's a small drop in the bucket, but at least a start somewhere. Google: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Fiber http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Fiber

soult 15y ago

Because as soon as a new player wants to connect a town with fiber (or the town decides to lay fiber on it's own) suddenly the big telcos are very interested in also laying fiber in that town, ruining any chance of profitability. There are even cases of telcos suing towns that tried to lay their own fiber.[0] I know this is an unpopular view in the United States, so please do not downvote me for stating my opinion, but I believe that phone/internet service should not have been privatized in the first place. 0: http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/09/telco-to-town-were-suing-you-because-we-care.ars http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/09/telco-to-town-wer...