User-financed FTTP fails in a competitive market

Palo Alto user financed FTTP study

A user-financed, municipal fiber-to-the-premises broadband system would be a financial nightmare if launched into a market with mainstream competition, even if it’s subsidized and supported by a profitable city-owned utility.

That’s the finding of a study presented to the City of Palo Alto’s Utility Advisory Commission last night by Tellus Venture Associates. The report assessed the financial potential of user-financed municipal FTTP options, including upfront payments ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, substantial capital contributions by the City and ongoing subsidies of up to $2,000,000 per year.… More

San Leandro joins elite group of dark fiber cities


Source: Lit San Leandro

Lit San Leandro is putting fiber in the ground. A launch party attracted about a hundred out-of-town development prospects and local business people who heard about the project’s big picture benefits and the specific real estate opportunities it creates. The Hayward Daily Review and San Leandro Patch have good articles on the event. Patrick Kennedy’s Lit San Leandro blog also has good updates and pictures.
Speakers at the event included Sean Tario, the CEO of Open Spectrum Inc.
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4G is not 4G without the backhaul to support it

10 October 2011 by Steve Blum
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“4G is not 4G without the backhaul to support it,” said Sara Kaufman, an analyst who follows mobile operator strategy for Ovum, speaking today at the CTIA Enterprise & Applications conference in San Diego. Mobile carriers have to start by connecting cell sites to fiber networks when they upgrade their networks to 4G speeds using LTE technology.

She predicted robust growth for LTE-based 4G mobile data service in the U.S., but had trouble explaining exactly why.… More

Just released: fiber market research report for City of Palo Alto

1 June 2011 by Steve Blum
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Tellus Venture Associates has just completed a market study looking at the City of Palo Alto’s high speed fiber backbone service and can be downloaded here. The report will be presented tonight to the City’s Utilities Advisory Commission. The presentation will be also be available for download afterwards, and a more complete case study will be posted soon.