From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Fri Sep 24 1999 - 13:05:46 MDT
From: Max More <max@maxmore.com>
>>
>>All optical is the way to go, unfortunately no ones willing to
>>build it. (too expensive).
>Hi Brian. There's no doubt that all-optical is expensive, but I
>have no doubt that we are heading in that direction. I would not
>say that "no one's willing to build it", since I see it being
>built out rapidly, although it will probably be years before fiber
>makes it all the way to the home. Qwest, for example, having
>completed its 18,500 mile optical network, is now building
>"inward" closer to homes and businesses. In meantime, in 2000
>we're going to see a massive increase in usage of cable modems,
>various flavors of DSL, and the beginnings of broadband wireless,
>all of which will alleviate the last-mile problem, at least a bit
>-- until people demand more movies over the Net (then interactive
>VR...).
We've been dropping over a billion additional dollars a year in
fiber into the ground for several years now. One of our
subsidiaries (Americast) is building new broadband cable networks
as we speak, but they are fiber/coax hybrids.
We had a deal going with Qwest till the feds (at the request of the
long distance/cable companies) stepped in.
I ran ADSL trials here 6 years ago, but we're just starting to
offer it....
The big problem is political, the FCC in conjunction with the cable
companies, and the long distance companies, and consumer groups
handcuffed us years ago.
If we build an all fiber network we have to do it out of profit,
and not charge the users (strike one) we have to let EVERYONE else
use it (strike two) for 20% less than we charge ourselves, (strike
three) we have to reserve 80% of bandwidth for them (strike four!)
and we are forbidden from long distance or any other value added
business... (strike five!)
Any wonder we haven't built it?
Brian
Member, Extropy Institute, www.extropy.org
Life Extension Foundation, www.lef.org
National Rifle Association, www.nra.org, 1.800.672.3888
Mars Society, www.marssociety.org
Ameritech Data Center Chicago, IL, Local 134 I.B.E.W
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