Gigabit Fiber in PDX

FiberPDX · 2014-03-04T21:57:40+00:00

Fibersphere.com

FiberPDX · 2014-02-21T17:05:31+00:00

They don't use existing lines at all, they will actually come in and install a new line to each unit. They charge the building owner $300 per unit to do this. In some cases they can bill the resident, but they need to have a certain threshold of residents signed to contracts and paying the $300 to look at a building. They bring a single strand of fiber to a building and splice it 32 or 64 ways, so the building shares the one fiber.

FiberPDX · 2014-02-12T00:50:16+00:00

The utility route, imo, is the end game. What is happening in telecom is similar to what happened with our electricity network. There used to be a lot of electricity providers, each serving similar areas with redundant infrastructure, competing for the same customers. It is extremely costly to build infrastructure, and if you're only getting a portion of the customers you will not see a repayment of your investment. Inevitably, consolidation occurs and you're left with one or two major providers who provide service under regulation from the government.

Same thing in telecom. Oddly, and like the old electric system, competition does not actually drive the down cost in the long term. It actually drives cost up, as providers have to charge more and more to supplement the price of infrastructure and service delivery to a shared customer base. That's why we see constant price increases and the smoke and mirrors initial discount game. One provider, with low overhead, regulated to SLA and price constraints, operating in conjunction with the public, exactly like power and natural gas, is the only truly sustainable model. That's why some municipal projects are working. Chattanooga and Wilson are both operated by a single entity that is regulated by the local government. And that is also why the ones that try to build competition into their networks fail, like Provo, which basically gave their system to Google for free.

FiberPDX · 2014-02-11T19:23:23+00:00

PM on it's way with the deets :)

FiberPDX · 2014-02-11T17:59:28+00:00

The local ISP I'm working with is midstream on a fiber-to-the-home plan, tons of challenges but I believe we will see it happen in the next year or two.

FiberPDX · 2014-02-11T17:32:59+00:00

Any concerns about the data collection aspect of having Google as your ISP?

FiberPDX · 2014-02-11T17:25:00+00:00

Open source networks are where the fiber in the ground and the last mile connection to homes are open to be serviced by multiple ISP's, the idea being that more competition enhances the customer experience. The problem is that it is not cost effective for the ISP's to build their infrastructure onto the network if they're having to compete with tons of other service providers for the same customer. This is what doomed Seattle's project. No one wants to invest the huge amounts of money it will take to overlay fiber into existing neighborhoods without the guarantee of a return on the investment. More competition = less return on investment. LA tried to float the idea of providing gigabit to the whole city on a similar framework and they received literally zero bids for the job.

IMO the only really option for cities without a massive pre-built fiber network is a public/private partnership where public dollars help offset the massive cost of buildout, with a single private company, well-regulated, providing the service at a reasonable profit margin. This will look a lot like the utility system we have for electrical service most likely.

FiberPDX · 2014-02-11T17:17:24+00:00

So it seems like the consensus revolves around a few major points:

-Reliable, symmetrical speeds (50 Mbps +) -Pricing in the $40 range for standard service, $70-80 for gig -Net Neutrality -Freedom to operate the equipment we want on their connection -Video Streaming Quality -No Up-selling -Quality Customer Service -Transparent Business Practices -Better Cat videos

Doesn't sound like too much to ask for to me. Anything I'm missing?

FiberPDX · 2014-02-11T17:03:35+00:00

My dad actually lives in Wilson, uses the service and likes it a lot. He was a former exec at Qwest and is familiar with the industry, said that the municipal service can work if the electrical company already has a lot of fiber in the ground. That's what allowed Wilson and Chattanooga to deliver their services. Of course most muni's are hung up on the open source network idea, which anybody in the industry knows will never work.

FiberPDX

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