ftth – Page 22 – Steve Blum's Blog

$230 million and counting

2 February 2013 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, ftth, public policy, race telecommunications

At least $230 million in grant and loan proposals were sent to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) yesterday, and more is to come. I’ve seen a total of 29 projects from 15 different organizations. Most of the requests – almost $229 million – are for grants, but half a dozen also requested loans totaling nearly $2 million.

The CPUC doesn’t have that much money in the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). They have something like $150 million left of their original authorization, but probably only about half that is in the bank.… More

CASF requests pushing $200 million already

1 February 2013 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, ftth, public policy, race telecommunications

Big ask for a big project.

I’m counting about twenty applications for California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) grants and loans tonight. The deadline just passed, and the dust hasn’t settled from the email service list yet. So there might be – probably will be – more. But the total is pushing close to $200 million, which means there’s going to be some tough decisions coming at the California Public Utilities Commission.

It looks like the combined proposals will go well over the CASF’s authorized limit, let alone what they have on hand.… More

Crunch time for CASF applications

31 January 2013 by Steve Blum
casf, community networks, cpuc, ftth, public policy

Friday is the deadline for would-be applicants to the California Advanced Service Fund. Projects proposed for underserved, or combined unserved and underserved, areas have to be filed with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) by 5:00 p.m.

So far, four projects have been circulated to the CASF email distribution list:

The Big Dipper project, an upgrade to microwave radio links to improve broadband service in Placer County. They’re asking for a $117 thousand grant.
The Olinda project, a $1.8 million grant request for an upgrade to telephone infrastructure in Shasta County.

… More

China takes a simple, rational step towards FTTH

25 January 2013 by Steve Blum
ftth, planet earth, public policy, san leandro

It’s a long march to San Leandro.

The Chinese government is adopting a policy that’s been urged here in the U.S. Starting in April, Beijing will require new homes that are built within reach of an Internet backbone to be connected directly by fiber.

It’s one of the policies we looked at when we did an economic development-related study for the City of San Leandro. That particular study was focused on improving commercial and industrial broadband availability, but we looked at the same basic policy question: should broadband be treated like any other essential utility, and be subject to the same sort of minimum requirements when new construction or major remodeling is done?… More

Metro broadband: without the political cards, you're not playing with a full deck

27 December 2012 by Steve Blum
business, business model, capital cost, casf, dark fiber, demand, fiber market study, ftth, fttp, funding, lit san leandro, municipal broadband, palo alto, private capital, public policy, public private partnership, seattle

Political value: the need for speed at the San Leandro public library.

There’s an argument to the effect that the prices charged for broadband service by telcos and cable companies in urban areas are higher than necessary to provide that service and make a reasonable profit.

It’s not crazy talk. You can make a case that more densely populated areas have lower per household costs – opex and capex – and that more affluent areas have higher profit margins.… More

The problem with FTTH is there's no problem

17 December 2012 by Steve Blum
business, business model, capital cost, dark fiber, demand, feasibility study, fiber market study, ftth, fttp, funding, gigabit squared, municipal broadband, private capital, public private partnership, seattle

It’s not about finding a mass market solution. It’s about finding a sufficiently acute mass market problem.

The struggle to develop a general fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) or premises (FTTP) business model for city-wide deployments doesn’t result from a market failure. Quite the contrary. It’s evidence that the laws of supply and demand are in full effect.

Demand, meet supply.

People generally get the broadband service someone else – a business or government agency mostly – is willing to give them for the price they’re willing to pay.… More

Gigabit Seattle's financial vehicle is still a concept car

16 December 2012 by Steve Blum
business, business model, capital cost, dark fiber, demand, fiber market study, ftth, fttp, funding, gigabit squared, municipal broadband, private capital, public private partnership, seattle

Car of the Future as conceived by Studebaker's Director of Styling, Raymond Loewy, in the August 1950 issue of Science and Mechanics. Loewy wrote about the new styling for tomorrow's rocket age population. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Thanks for the down payment. Just need to find someone to co-sign the loan.

“Gigabit Squared is providing the capital, although details of the financing model aren’t clear,” wrote Stacey Higginbotham in a story for GigaOM following Gigabit Squared’s announcement last May that it had formed a partnership with Gig.U and was bringing $200 million to the table to fund fiber networks in as many as six cities.

The financing model was equally unclear last week when the City of Seattle and the University of Washington blessed a plan by Gigabit Squared to build a demonstration fiber-to-the-premises network in 12 Seattle neighborhoods.… More

Seattle passes the fiber (50 mega) buck

14 December 2012 by Steve Blum
business, business model, capital cost, dark fiber, demand, feasibility study, fiber market study, ftth, fttp, funding, gigabit squared, municipal broadband, palo alto, private capital, public private partnership, seattle

The unveiling of Gigabit Seattle yesterday is just the first step on a long road to building a fiber to the premises (FTTP) service for residents. The City of Seattle and the University of Washington have endorsed a plan by a consulting firm – Gigabit Squared – to “begin raising the capital needed” for a demonstration project.

It’s not small change. The 200 miles of fiber needed to reach 50,000 homes and businesses in 12 neighborhoods will cost something like $50 million to install and light up.… More

Chattanooga fiber success punctures Gigabit hype

11 September 2012 by Steve Blum
broadband, fiber market study, ftth, municipal broadband

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, electric power is provided by EPB, a municipal utility company that is also in the fiber optic business. EPB claims that anyone in its 600 square mile footprint can get a 1 Gigabit connection to a home or business. The cost is $350 per month.

Word is that thirty four subscribers, out of about 150,000 passed, have opted for 1 Gig. There’s been a lot of handwringing about this supposedly low take rate, with a lot of criticism directed at the price.

… More

User-financed FTTP fails in a competitive market

7 June 2012 by Steve Blum
broadband, business, community networks, dark fiber, feasibilty study, fiber market study, finance, ftth, fttp, municipal broadband, palo alto, telecommunications, telecoms

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