sLab blog

This podcast from ITConversations covers issues of direct relevance to the iWaterfront initiative: http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail3719.html

Brough Turner says, “Don’t fight for anything above dark fiber.” Changes in telecom tend to happen on a decade’s time scale so be careful what you ask for – it will be with you for a long time. His proposal for improving internet communications in the United States is based on the paradigm of owning the dark fiber ourselves or controlling who lights the dark fiber that comes into our homes.

He describes models from Quebec and Sweden of condominium fiber and municipal fiber, and gives Sweden as the example of a successful model because of their dark fiber widely available. Telephony is not a natural monopoly as that is defined. With dark fiber widely available in a condominium or municipal model, independent ISP’s can compete and customers can control who lights their dark fiber.