Community Fiber Networks Are Faster, Cheaper Than Incumbents

Digging into the reality of community broadband - we compare the broadband prices and speeds of community networks to incumbent providers, using examples from North Carolina that are representative of modern community fiber networks. Incumbent providers including AT&T, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable want to outlaw these networks even as many, including the Federal Communications Commission, recognize the clear benefits of allowing communities to decide locally whether such an investment makes sense.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• analysis
• community broadband
• community networks
• community fiber
• broadband
• telecommunications
• new rules project
• north carolina
• ftth
• fttp
• fiber-to-the-home
• fiber-optics
• wired networks
• AT&T
• time warner cable
• DSL
• cable

[lshareknowledge]

I -love- the idea of cheaper, faster, more reliable networks, but I -DON'T- love the idea of it being owned by the government, even local ones. That being said, I am rather excited about perlman's very recently 'DIDO'. Although no demo has been made, the claims are monstrous and amazing. It's a radio or wireless technology. Think of having a wifi router with a 30 mile range and bandwidth that would make 802.11n seem like a standstill. He says DIDO would have basically unlimited bandwidth.

[ilsr08]

@lshareknowledge Wireless is not a substitute for wired connections and absent a refutation of Shannon's Law, it is unlikely to compare to the reliability and capacity of fiber-optic connections. Wired offers high capacity and reliability whereas wireless offers mobility. And most wireless is simply using a tower to share a fiber-optic connection among hundreds or thousands. Of course it cannot supplant the fiber-optic connection unshared.

[RenegadeFury]

While this is true for everything except, "rarely achieve speeds on cable network", that's just not true. On Comcast you are almost always get your rated speed a bit of powerboost. Time warner is also pretty good about this, Cox I imagine would be pretty good too.

[ilsr08]

@RenegadeFury With recent upgrades, I have found that I get the advertised speeds more often from Comcast but far from "almost always." And in researching broadband, I find the situation is far worse on Time Warner Cable.

[jhaus3000]

This MUST be a priority for all legislators who are concerned about the American economy & job growth. We need a lobbying group that stands for the right of citizens to build their own local networks. Using Grover Norquist's model, this group should promote any politician supporting these initiatives & actively work to unseat all politicians opposed to it.

P.S. Great summary of the current market conditions that are holding back American innovation & job creation. Thank you for all your work!

[antz1290]

Fibrant also has 1G capability, it's just not widely advertised to consumers.

[CLEVELTECH]

I am leading the fight to bring community broadband to my area.

[lshareknowledge]

@empulseh I am surprised and not surprised by your comment at the same time. Perhaps you are blind actions that relate to the patriot act, maybe you are unaware of the many nations the US military occupy. Maybe you haven't heard of the trillions of dollars in bailouts for banks. All of these ideas (a tiny piece of the pie) go -extremely- against the will of the people. Big government is bad, bigger is worse. Search "How Much is that Broadband Stimulus Per Unserved Household". Research!

[lshareknowledge]

@igeekone I get the feeling you didn't bother reading my comments. Words like 'claims' and 'if' were used. Here is me quoting myself. "This is all speculative and for all we know, perlman's dido could be complete fabrication." Indeed, there is no demo, proof, or evidence beyond his own words. I am sure we all appreciate the repetition. But, just in the spirit of igeekone, here is another quote of myself, "Although no demo has been made". Feel free to read.

[igeekone]

@lshareknowledge DIDO has not been demoed at full scale, not even shown at small scale. It's a lot of lip service with zero proof.

[lshareknowledge]

@ilsr08 Wireless could actually be a fine substitute if the latency, bandwidth, range, and security were acceptable. You very likely don't fully understand the claims made by perlman, if what he says is accurate, dido could be a very acceptable alternative. This is all speculative and for all we know, perlman's dido could be complete fabrication. But if it isn't I am betting your opinion will change.