If You Must Dig Up A Highway... You Might As Well Install Infrastructure For Fiber Optic Cables
from the makes-sense dept
Wired broadband is often compared to the highway system, in that both are "natural monopolies" in that it often doesn't make sense to build competing setups, since you really only want one massive infrastructure product. With highways, you don't want to rip up too many parts of the country, and with broadband you don't want to let every company get rights of way to dig up everyone's yard. However, some politicians are pushing a rather simple, and totally reasonable plan that says if someone is already building or modifying a highway with federal funds, then they should also run conduit for fiber optic cables (they don't have to run the fiber themselves, just install the conduit). The idea -- and this makes a surprising amount of sense -- is that if the road is already being dug up, why not put conduit for future fiber there, rather than having to redig up areas to run fiber in the future. Sensible thinking from government officials? How much do you want to bet this goes nowhere?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: broadband, fiber, highways, infrastructure, natural monopolies
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I have a hard time to figure you out sometimes. You go on and on about how bad it is to have monopolies on the last mile of internet service, yet you have no problem granting a monopoly on all the other miles?
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No, not a granting of a monopoly. A natural monopoly. The difference is important. And all we're saying here is having the CONDUIT. If you have that, then it's actually much easier to lay multiple lines without having to tear up things multiple times.
And I never said that there's a problem ON the last mile of connectivty. The problem is with the monopoly OVER the last mile of connectivity. If we had a single line with competing providers I'd be happy. Right now we don't.
It's the difference between competition at the infrastructure level and at the service level and it makes all the difference in the world.
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The real question is who will get it
The funny thing is that the lawmakers know it, the FCC knows it, the Telcos know it, and the taxpayers still won't get it.
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No! We can't have this!
1) As #2 said, who would be entrusted to maintain this publicly-funded infrastructure? Is it leased? Explain how this works.
2) Surely some company has a patent on the conduit idea. It makes too much sense, why hasn't it been done before?
3)He Man died years ago. And we don't have congresscritters that would push it thru to the end.
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Many large cities have conduits where various telecommunication and electricity providers run their cables. Sometimes, storm sewers are utilized to carry those cables.
Yes, because running a pipe below grade must be a unique idea that no one has thought of in the past thousand or so years and is worthy of protection.
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I think this was Google's idea...
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Then have a group of people who know there shit running it. but this will never happen because local fiber monopolys will sue that this is breach of contract like thay did with the town that wanted to do the same thing.
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Could be there's often writing disfunction that accompanies the reading comprehension failures. But maybe I'm wrong...
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In addition the law only says conduit needs to be added to highway jobs, not fiber, or does it regulate the use of the fiber thus telcos will try to take all the money and run.
My 2nd question is someone going to pay off a town to not get there highway redone just to keep fiber from geting put in? or will the law allow for metro areas force a bridge to be built in areas where the conduit has not been run yet.
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The government owes them no such advantage. As such, they have no right to sue. Even if they sue they should lose quickly.
Besides, states have sovereign immunity if they implement it.
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Happens all the time
My home town is doing it right now as they replace the main street through town.
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Who pays
Who pays for the additional cost of pipe conduit and installation?
What other specifications are required? You mentioned multiple fiber cable capabilities, so is a 12inch conduit sufficient? what about a 24inch? PVC? HDPE? Ductile Iron? Do there need to be multiple access points along a length? Standard cable pull box spacing? Most highways have a right of way that extends beyond the road, why not simply install it in that area? Why the need of encroaching the roadway with all the additional hazards associated with it? I don't think this works across the country. Metro areas have less space available and this becomes much more profitable. But then why stop on only federally funded roads? Why not all roads?
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The probelm is
this was always thought by the municipalities as a way of getting their pound of flesh from say, the Cable company.
So do I see this happening , no not really do to the financial aspect involved.
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So I asked a fiber guy why don't they do that? He told me that cable guys don't like to put their wires near the power guys lines cause they don't want to get killed. Makes sense to me, when I look out my window I see the power line up in the air with the cable wire about 4 feet below the power line.
How many times have we read (here) of a fiber guy setting someone's garage on fire because they drilled through someone's circuit box?
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