  ronpin Imagine Reality
join:2002-12-06 Nirvana
·AT&T Southwest
| reply to ajschmitt Re: My Take on Lightspeed
I was all over this a year ago -- I finally gave up.
If SBC is willing to ignore the 6 mile range and "no field electronics" features of passive Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) -- then optical OLT's can be crammed into the new "Mini RTs" for LightSpeed -- and homerun fiber ran from there (an ugly contradiction to FTTP purists). That would mean higher OSP costs for eternity.
Still, the $10/ft cost for directional drilling of buried conduit is the real sticking point. Most of the affluent subdivisions -- where a fast ROI can be had -- have no aerial wires. So a typical 75 ft. lot frontage costs $750 -- just for the conduit passing. The home ONT cost is down to $300-$400 and STBs are maybe $100.
Verizon clearly saw the advantages of doing it right the first time. My years in software taught me that most companies prefer to do it wrong the first time -- if that'll get things started. They can count the bodies later.
Lets hope a cheap non-invasive method of conduit placement can be developed. -- "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country" - and stop the NeoCons |