What questions remain unanswered
For the last 15 years I have watched the debate on FTTx go round and round in circles- particulalry in the UK. I see them repeated in this blog. So having heard all the arguments time and time again, what questions genuinely remain unanswered before we DO something about it. While we debate other countries have just gone ahead and done it because they see this issue as impacting their economic competitiveness, their quality of life etc. There are ways of reducing the costs through innovative business models, we can increase competition, we can deliver assymetric services which will change the face of society, we can overcome state aid issues, the social and economic impact has been proven......
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Totally agree - I think ONE
Totally agree - I think ONE of the unanswered question is
SO WHO is going to do something about it? In Korea it was the Government. In Singapore it was the er... government.... in (er you get my point). So is our only option to trust the government to do it (which one, what level - Europe cant afford to do it, National Governments arent trusted to do it, so is it down to regional and municipal governments to do it?
Don't think so Roger. That's
Don't think so Roger. That's what is happening in the UK and they are proving they aren't up to it in the majority of areas.
I am still struggling to come up with an answer.
I think its up to government to level the playing field so new entrants can come into the market place.
Its up to regional and municipal governments to aid and abet innovation by helping with permissions, red tape and planning.
Its up to individuals to help each other and get community engagement to drive it forward like in Sweden. Its up to funders to spot potential projects and offer loans or seed corn funding.
Its up to us all in other words. So we're back to square 1. Chicken and Egg. What do we tackle first?
Chris, If you take a UK
Chris, If you take a UK centric view of the world I would agree with you but we have accumulated evidence across Europe of socio-economic impact, documented different business models which allow stimulation of competition and finance from the private sector, case studies, state aid processes etc. We have the answers but the problem is that we seem to be ignoring all of this and starting the debate all over again. Folks like Crister Mattsson and myself have been instrumental in communicating what needs to be done, changing policy etc...... so I would like to know what issues you think have still to be resolved. I have posted on this blog a PPP model which allows open access, reduces costs to a minimum, is state aid compliant etc. So what else is needed before action is taken?
We have to get the policy
We have to get the policy makers to listen to you? Apparently this is the place to do it. The more people who blog and post here the sooner we may get through to them... even though we have done it over and over again for years, maybe this time they are listening.
Chris, Erisa has met all the
Chris, Erisa has met all the national champions , run workshops across Europe, run round tables and conferences documented all of what I have mentioned etc this blog is not the only means of communication . Ourselves IBBT, FTTH et al have explained what is needed. The same questions from the same people are being asked - particularly in the UK. with the same evidence I helped Singapore and they have started to implement the solution in 18 months while we discuss
It is interesting, in my view
It is interesting, in my view, that there is so much supply-side push from the Fibre camp - particularly at the European level. Yet the real case for change has not been properly articulated. I was very interested by Robert Kenny's evidence to the House of Lords presenting the case against large-scale investment in FTTH. There is deep skepticism in certain parts of the UK government and incumbent parts of the industry that a full-scale build-out of fibre networks is not the answer. And these skeptics are winning - much to the frustration, apparently of the Fibre Brigade.
In my small scheme in Kent, I have certainly learned a lot. One of the main learnings is that digging is not the most cost-effective answer. Point to Point and Point to Multipoint Wireless backhaul has a big role to play - not just in the rural final third, but also on the edges of cities. I have heard at a very senior level in government that "wireless is the new fibre".
The case for change is also shrouded in techno-babble so that most normal people don't understand what the industry is talking about. This is not helped by words such as "bright", "infinity" and "free" are used in marketing campaigns - adding to the confusion.
The main question for me is "How can we help the Eurozone, National and Local Governments create a more joined-up policies for the next generation of what INCA calls "Transformational Digital Infrastructre". This is not just about final mile access speeds - it is the whole way you transform the public sector and business services to drive true economic regeneration in a "franchise area". These areas need to reconnect the cities to the hinterlands that they support - as well as encourage local specialisation and differentiation to sustain the advantages gained.
Much of the "doing" is going to be about finding good cases and stories that will persuade bankers and politicians that there is another way. The INCA 2020 vision (referred to elsewhere in this site) sets out a four-point plan to achieve what is needed. I hope you guys at eris@ can get behind the campaign and help us to sell it at "higher" levels in Europe.
We have also learnt a lot in
We have also learnt a lot in our scheme in Lancashire. We have run wifi networks since 2005. We learnt that digging is not the cheapest way Lorne, but it works out cheaper in the long run to do the job once, and do it right. If you dig fibre in you have an asset that will pay back over generations. We have already rebuilt our wireless network twice in a decade. Dead money. Yes it provides a quick fix, but its a never ending path of upgrades and expensive to maintain and run.
So is copper. The old phone network is past its sell by date, expensive to maintain, high on energy demands, high on labour costs, - obsolete. Fibre is the final solution, and its our job to implement it, we aren't a 'fibre brigade' we are just people who have analysed and tried all the alternatives and realise fibre is the best and most cost effective in the long term. A wireless cloud on top of a fibre network is also good, but without the basic ground level infrastructure it is useless, as it will never be able to cope with what is to come.
Interesting points Lorne but
Interesting points Lorne but it only supports my view that these arguments have been made time and time again. Have you read what was said by the ex CTO of BT to a parliamentary committee. It's not a case of what can the uk do as there are many regions already ahead of the uk and enjoying 200mb symmetric to the home. These regions will push the uk even further down the league table of nations enjoying FTTx (currently somewhere south of 27th in the world after Turkey)
I take your point about unbelievers but there are dozens of cases now across Europe providing ROCE to the region or municipalities. Of course there are cynics in the vertically integrated service providers. If you were a taxi company which owned the road who wouldn't be a cynic?!
" If you were a taxi company
" If you were a taxi company which owned the road who wouldn't be a cynic?!" - well said Charles.
and to that I would add 'if you have shares in the taxi company wouldn't you be a cynic too?'