wonk, it's good to re-introduce WTC's points every now and then, thanks. Someone asked (I think it was MikeM) if the electric utilities have placed any fiber to the home. This, too, is a function of TA 96, as was the ebbing (or at least the change in direction) of many Institutional Network (I-Net) builds, otherwise known as municipal regional telecomm networks, or RTNs.
Yes, the electric utilities have placed fiber to the home in some pilots, but they have been predominantly influential as partners on roadside r/o/w network feeder (network spine) projects, thus far.
And this has been fortuitous, to some extent, as we now approach an era when last thousand feet optical sections might very well prove to be multimode, instead of singlemode, or, if they are to remain singlemode, then they would now be able to harness a broader range of lambdas with present day fiber (ALLWave, MetroCOR, LEAF) than with the older single mode fibers (SMFs) of earlier vintages that were placed in the ground for ILEC and HFC transport purposes.
But it looks like this to me: If dense or even coarse WDM is going to be brought to clusters of homes in the way of field nodes in the future, then we may see cheaper-to-install-and-manage multimode being used for the last thousand feet for support of 1 and 10 (possibly 100 at some point) Ethernets or other Layer 1/2 platforms such as ATM on PONs, in support of IPE (IP everything).
If, on the other hand, wavelength transparency is required from the residence to, and through, the neighborhood node and all the way back to the head end or central office at selectable lambdas, then perhaps one of the newer variants of SMF would, in all likelihood, be more suitable.
One of the points you made was most interesting:
"I believe that the first provider to deploy a fiber-based local loop recreates the natural monopoly, at least as defined by classical microeconomics..."
Quite possibly, but not necessarily. If an incumbent telecomm or TV service provider is the first, then I give your posit a maybe. But if the electric utility is the first, they will seek to wholesale their capacity to the other two or three of four, since they will have created a neutral, common infrastructure -- for the others to place their services on -- except for the thicker group of utility related telecom and telemetry services that they might offer themselves. But the bulk of the utility-laid fiber would be for wholesaling. And this would make a great deal of sense for bottom-line-oriented thinking folks, one would imagine. I'd like to hear more comment on this aspect, if anyone is so inclined.
Of course, this is still for the most a part hypothetical scenario at this point, but it (the common infrastructure angle) is a model that has been kicked around both here and elsewhere in actual industry circles and academia for purposes or argument and analysis.
Indeed, certain utilities have already entered into such ventures as ftth (take your pick, ftth-the-architecture or ftth-the-person <wonder if he's related to Prince> has already alluded to, ever since the dereg of utilities was mentioned in serious context a dozen years ago.
FAC |
