[1st-mile-nm] Broadband Strategy: Conduit

[Steve Ross]

Richard,

What you propose is actually the norm (and usually required 
by law) in European cities. Fiber is "blown" for miles 
through the conduits.


Steven S. Ross
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Richard Lowenberg wrote:
> The Best Municipal Broadband Strategy - Just Lay Conduit
> 
> July 24, 2008 4:18 PM
> 
> http://app-rising.com/2008/07/the_best_municipal_broadband_s.html
> 
> In Portland on Monday after my panel I was chatting with fellow panelist Jim
> Stegeman, president of CostQuest Associates.
> 
> While his presentation dealt with the cost of deploying wireless 3G nationwide,
> during our follow-up conversation we got into the topic of how much it costs to
> deploy fiber. That's when Jim shared a stunning number with me: fiber only costs
> $1 a foot while putting in the underground conduit that it needs to run through
> can cost $13-14 a foot, with that number varying based on the characteristics
> of the areas in which it's being deployed.
> 
> The reason laying conduit's so expensive is because of the labor it takes to dig
> up the streets, put in the conduit, and then cover it back up again. The actual
> cost of the conduit itself isn't all that high.
> 
> What that also means is that once the conduit's in the ground, the cost of
> laying fiber can be reduced dramatically, orders of magnitude cheaper.
> 
> So imagine this: what could happen if we started having cities lay conduit
> whenever they're ripping up roads for other reasons, like upgrading the sewer
> system?
> 
> There are many reasons why cities have to rip up roads, and once they're ripped
> up there isn't all that much additional cost that would be needed to put in
> conduit.
> 
> And once that conduit's in place, it would dramatically reduce the cost, time,
> and complexity of deploying fiber.
> 
> Plus, if cities needed to recoup their investment in conduit, they could likely
> charge whoever comes in to lay fiber for access to it. Of course they wouldn't
> want to charge too much lest they dissuade private investment, but I'd think
> there'd certainly be enough there to have the deployment of conduit pay for
> itself.
> 
> By doing this, cities can improve the economics of any public or private
> deployment of full fiber networks. So much so, in fact, that I'd bet at least
> in some communities it would shift the balance sheet so dramatically that it
> might cause incumbents who are currently sitting on the sidelines when it comes
> to deploying fiber all the way to the home to get up off the bench since now the
> economics of these endeavors become much more feasible.
> 
> So if you ask me what's the best broadband strategy for any municipality, I'll
> say that it starts with making sure you don't miss the opportunity to lay
> conduit whenever possible, thereby setting the stage for improving your chances
> of getting wired with fiber in the future.
> 
>