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We have learned from experience that when you put a new set of wires on, a non-trivial risk exists that existing wires get damaged. And then people blame the o

by btilly 4y ago

We have learned from experience that when you put a new set of wires on, a non-trivial risk exists that existing wires get damaged. And then people blame the owner of the other wires for their problems. This happens enough by accident that cases of intent are hard to prove, but nobody doubts that it happens with intent as well. The result as we've had more and more wires up is more and more regulatory costs around putting up wires.

octoberfranklin 4y ago
The simple answer to this is to make point-to-point dark fiber a regulated monopoly, just like electricity. It's illegal for me to start my own electric distribution company within the footprint of my power company. It's also illegal for them to deny me service, or to expand vertically into anything other than electrical local distribution. It would be so easy to do the same thing for dark fiber. Hold an auction, whoever wins gets to buy all the dark fiber that crosses property lines within the territory. In exchange, they have to divest ownership of any business that isn't dark fiber, and must lease point-to-point wavelengths on a fixed and published price schedule to any willing buyer. The electrical companies would be happy to do this. Mine already does, but only for certain areas where they had to run their own fiber anyways (basically along the major highways). They would be happy to expand to every doorstep if they were guaranteed a regulated monopoly just like they have for electrical lines. That would be a big enough market to allow their fiber department to split off from the electrical utility and become a standalone dark fiber utility. They don't want to be an ISP (they had the chance to become one and turned it down). They're just really good at hanging ADSS on poles and want to do a lot of that.
- btilly 4y ago
  Regulated monopolies have a long history of getting control of the regulation, and then becoming abusive monopolies. All solutions have problems here. :-(

by btilly 4y ago

octoberfranklin 4y ago

The simple answer to this is to make point-to-point dark fiber a regulated monopoly, just like electricity. It's illegal for me to start my own electric distribution company within the footprint of my power company. It's also illegal for them to deny me service, or to expand vertically into anything other than electrical local distribution. It would be so easy to do the same thing for dark fiber. Hold an auction, whoever wins gets to buy all the dark fiber that crosses property lines within the territory. In exchange, they have to divest ownership of any business that isn't dark fiber, and must lease point-to-point wavelengths on a fixed and published price schedule to any willing buyer. The electrical companies would be happy to do this. Mine already does, but only for certain areas where they had to run their own fiber anyways (basically along the major highways). They would be happy to expand to every doorstep if they were guaranteed a regulated monopoly just like they have for electrical lines. That would be a big enough market to allow their fiber department to split off from the electrical utility and become a standalone dark fiber utility. They don't want to be an ISP (they had the chance to become one and turned it down). They're just really good at hanging ADSS on poles and want to do a lot of that.

btilly 4y ago
Regulated monopolies have a long history of getting control of the regulation, and then becoming abusive monopolies. All solutions have problems here. :-(