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story category Kentucky Co-op Delivers ADSL2+, HDTV
10-gig fiber ring to feed roughly 8.500 customers
(old news - 09:21AM Monday Sep 17 2007)
tags: dsl · competition · coverage · business · alternatives · bandwidth · telco · Mountain Telephone
A small West Liberty, Kentucky-based phone cooperative named Mountain Telephone (see user reviews) is building a 10-gig fiber ring that will feed ADSL2+ copper lines to area residences and businesses. The operator, which has just 17,000 subscribers and operates in some very rural territory, says that the plans will only reach about half of the carrier's subscribers:
Gillum predicted this configuration will deliver IPTV to about half the co-op’s subscribers, although high definition television will be more problematic and probably restricted to those closer to the switch. ... "We certainly feel that our subscribers were anxious for IPTV," Gillum said.
Time Warner Cable is their local area broadband competitor, but only offers cable TV and no broadband services. The co-op tells Cable360 that they'd possibly consider running FTTH within two to five years.

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Forums » Kentucky Co-op Delivers ADSL2+, HDTV
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Post a:
zipjay

join:2003-03-11
Louisville, KY

wow...

thats like in the middle of nowhere

jhawk44

join:2006-10-19
USA

edit:
September 17th, @10:12AM

Re: wow...

way it should be. the city boys have enough options.
PDXPLT

join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR

So much for the lie that rural broadband is unprofitable ...

This isn't suprising -- the small telcos have a much better track record for broadband penetration in their territories than do the big ILEC's.

Those of us in rural areas served by the likes of Verizon, by contrast, remain SOL. While they spend tens of billions on deploying TV to their most affluent customers, they refuse to spend even a small portion of that to bring BB to more of their customer base.
bogey780

join:2004-03-19
Covington, LA

Re: So much for the lie that rural broadband is unprofitable ...

I don't believe they posted their internal numbers on profitability and how much they're relying on the USF.

Though, I don't believe they have a lot of competition to deal with either.

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

Re: So much for the lie that rural broadband is unprofitable ...

I agree... I wonder how much of this is paid for through USF slush fund.
--
Canada = Hollywood North

wifi4milez
In Need Of Garbage Pail Kids 1st Series

join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
·Sprint Mobile Broa..

How will they make money doing this?

How do they plan on making money after building a 10 gig fiber ring given that they only have 17,000 subs? They even mention that only half of their subs will be reached by the new network. I would be interested in seeing the numbers associated with this project!
--
я люблю Денди!
PDXPLT

join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR


edit:
September 17th, @12:18PM

Re: How will they make money doing this?

said by wifi4milez See Profile :

They even mention that only half of their subs will be reached by the new network.
No, they said only half will get IPTV. This sounds like a FTTN project; only those close enough to a node for high-enough speeds on ADSL2+ will get TV, I guess.

Since they're not a publicly-traded corporation, all they need to do is not lose money. They don't need to maximize ROI in order to make Wall St. happy.

USF funds aren't available to fund broadband, except to schools. It's only for basic telephony.

wifi4milez
In Need Of Garbage Pail Kids 1st Series

join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
·Sprint Mobile Broa..

Re: How will they make money doing this?

said by PDXPLT See Profile :

said by wifi4milez See Profile :

They even mention that only half of their subs will be reached by the new network.
No, they said only half will get IPTV. This sounds like a FTTN project; only those close enough to a node for high-enough speeds on ADSL2+ will get TV, I guess.

Since they're not a publicly-traded corporation, all they need to do is not lose money. They don't need to maximize ROI in order to make Wall St. happy.

USF funds aren't available to fund broadband, except to schools. It's only for basic telephony.
Forget about maximizing ROI, I am more curious about how they plan on not losing money by doing this. While they are not a public company, they still need to make money in order to survive. 10 gig rings are not cheap (even from a wholesale perspective) here in NYC, I cant even imagine the cost to deploy one in a very rural area! I am not saying this cant be done, I would just really like to see the business plan and look at the numbers to understand how they are going to make it work.
--
я люблю Денди!

MrMoody
Under the black helicopters

join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC

Re: How will they make money doing this?

I'm guessing they're getting some sort of help from ConnectKentucky.
mogooder

join:2002-11-26
Washougal, WA
Its a Co-op, Its not about making money.
mogooder
--
"The Secret is in the RITHMATIC" Henry Hudson

wifi4milez
In Need Of Garbage Pail Kids 1st Series

join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
·Sprint Mobile Broa..

Re: How will they make money doing this?

said by mogooder See Profile :

Its a Co-op, Its not about making money.
mogooder
Co-op or not, they still need to make money or the organization will cease to exist.
--
я люблю Денди!

tschmidt
Premium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
·Verizon Online DSL

said by wifi4milez See Profile :

How do they plan on making money after building a 10 gig fiber ring given that they only have 17,000 subs?
From the article it sounds like they are building their own ring. My guess is while the fiber is designed to support 10G most likely initial build-out will not fully utilize it. The important aspect it building the ring itself.

From the article sounds like they are going with Remote Terminals to reduce copper distance and allow them to deliver DSL where they would normally not be able to do so. At the same time upgrade copper outside plant (OSP). Much better to install fiber then copper. The fiber will allow them to serve more customers and generate additional revenue.

IPTV is only going to be available to customers near the RT due to copper limitations.

While I would rather see a Verizon approach of rolling out a FTTP network seems like these guys have struck a reasonable balance of capital cost vs new services. Nothing wrong with bootstrapping.

/Tom

His Eazyness

@mis.net

In the interest of accuracy...

Time Warner is the cable provider in Mountain Telephone's service area, but they currently do not offer any broadband options.

MrMoody
Under the black helicopters

join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC
·Embarq

Re: In the interest of accuracy...

I'm sure it's some 20+ year old one-way system with crappy, fuzzy, weak analog signal that TW won't upgrade which would explain why everyone is clamoring for IPTV.
--
"It is a future in which globalization really does work ... and everybody winds up getting to be part of the third world." - William Gibson

His Eazyness

@mis.net

Re: In the interest of accuracy...

Karl has updated his article, rendering my post redundant.

And, MrMoody, you are absolutely wrong. The signal is only fuzzy half the time.
AMDonUT2004

join:2006-06-12
Bedford, VA

if they can get it

let them have it and enjoy the FTTH Tv and nice broadband and more competition on top of that

Alakar
Facts do not cease to exist when ignored

join:2001-03-23
Milwaukee, WI
·AT&T Midwest

Maybe they have a State contract?

Checking the area it looks like there is a fairly large state prison complex located in West Liberty. Maybe they have a contract with the state that will help fund the fiber ring.

»www.corrections.ky.gov/ekcc/about/
--
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom; it is the arguments of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." William Pitt the Younger
Forums » Kentucky Co-op Delivers ADSL2+, HDTV

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