Fiber optic infrastructure

Antmeister · 04-01-2006, 06:20 PM

I don't quite know why this crossed my mind today, but several years ago, I was very close to working for a company that was designing fiber optic cable lines.

When I interviewed with them, I was fasicnated as they talked about how they talking about how they were going to change the infrastructure for cable and telephone. Almost limitless bandwith, unbelievable speed and no need to refresh the signal.

So what the frick happened? This was in 1998 and they projected that most of the major cities would have been completed in the next 3 years. Now it is 2006 and I still don't know of any area that has layed down any fiber optic cable lines. I know it is somewhat more expensive to lay down these lines, but you sure get a lot more in return than the copper ones.

Desnudo · 04-01-2006, 06:46 PM

It's all plastics these days.

Glengoyne · 04-01-2006, 06:53 PM

My local Telco offered to pull a fibre trunk into our office for about 4k/month. We aren't exactly in the technological center of the universe, so I imagine that it's deployed fairly widely.

sterlingice · 04-01-2006, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Desnudo

It's all plastics these days.

"Hey! It's all ball bearings nowadays."

SI

Daimyo · 04-01-2006, 07:28 PM

I thought everything was already fiber? When we opened a satellite campus in Miami we had fiber run and it seemed like the entire Coral Gables area already had it run everywhere.

Franklinnoble · 04-01-2006, 07:29 PM

Fiber is still a lot more expensive than copper.

Galaril · 04-01-2006, 07:33 PM

This is a little off track but I lived in South Korea for years and the whole country well at least all the urban areas which is nearly everywhere has fiberoptics layed down at government expense. No charge well except through taxes but they didn't go up all that much at the time. So, every house and company has it running into the building.

jeff061 · 04-01-2006, 07:50 PM

A lot of the fiber was laid all over the country, but never actually used, which is now referred as "dark fiber". Companies are starting to buy these lines up now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_fiber

Antmeister · 04-01-2006, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff061

A lot of the fiber was laid all over the country, but never actually used, which is now referred as "dark fiber". Companies are starting to buy these lines up now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_fiber

Ahhh, thanks for the link. So it may not be the case that the lines weren't layed out. It's just that they aren't being used. Interesting.

jeff061 · 04-01-2006, 09:27 PM

Google has bought a ton of it up, fueling the "Google is building a private internet" rumors that crop up occasionally.

gkb · 04-02-2006, 12:44 AM

I work for Level 3. They built a massive national fiber optic network (for around 6 billion) and laid empty conduits so that they could add more as needed. Back in the day the stock shot up to around $130 per share. It turns out that their projections for just how much the demand for fiber would grow were just a _tiny_ bit off. That, combined with the dot com bubble bursting sent the stock to below $2 per share. We're back up over $5 per share now though...$130 here we come.

CraigSca · 04-02-2006, 07:56 AM

Yeah, before the dot com there were 100's of companies laying dark fiber everywhere, and it was very expensive. Then, the bubble burst - there's a lot of dark fiber now, and it's pretty cheap, but the majority of it can only be afforded by large companies (and that's where the fiber runs are anyway). Last year I worked for a company that sold dark fiber consulting, WDM equipment, etc. There are a lot of companies that still pay the AT&Ts and MCIs of the world megabucks to lease their fiber, never understanding they could have almost unlimited bandwidth at a cheaper rate if they only secured their own.

Verizon in the Northeast has started a FiOS service, which is essentially fiber directly to the home. Our internet and phone service runs over it and they'll be supporting TV by the end of the year. We got lucky, however, since our area is one of the guinea pigs and our neighborhood is new. They're behind schedule in the roll out, but only because so many people want it. We get 5 MBps for $29.95 and you can get 10 Mbps for $39.95 and the reliability has been wonderful.

MacroGuru · 04-02-2006, 09:28 AM

Here in Utah, we have a network call the utopia network, and I watched them drop the fibre right in front of my house, I am just waiting on an ISP to support it, because I can go anywhere from 10 MBit up/down to 100 MBit up/down.

I just think that if the infrastructure will be built out or grown as the demand increases

04-01-2006, 07:50 PM	#8
jeff061 Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: MA	A lot of the fiber was laid all over the country, but never actually used, which is now referred as "dark fiber". Companies are starting to buy these lines up now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_fiber __________________ Last edited by jeff061 : 04-01-2006 at 07:51 PM.

04-01-2006, 09:27 PM	#10
jeff061 Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: MA	Google has bought a ton of it up, fueling the "Google is building a private internet" rumors that crop up occasionally. __________________

04-02-2006, 12:44 AM	#11
gkb High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Colorado	I work for Level 3. They built a massive national fiber optic network (for around 6 billion) and laid empty conduits so that they could add more as needed. Back in the day the stock shot up to around $130 per share. It turns out that their projections for just how much the demand for fiber would grow were just a _tiny_ bit off. That, combined with the dot com bubble bursting sent the stock to below $2 per share. We're back up over $5 per share now though...$130 here we come. __________________ BALLERZ YO, fo shizzle. - QuikSand

04-02-2006, 07:56 AM	#12
CraigSca Pro Starter Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Not Delaware - hurray!	Yeah, before the dot com there were 100's of companies laying dark fiber everywhere, and it was very expensive. Then, the bubble burst - there's a lot of dark fiber now, and it's pretty cheap, but the majority of it can only be afforded by large companies (and that's where the fiber runs are anyway). Last year I worked for a company that sold dark fiber consulting, WDM equipment, etc. There are a lot of companies that still pay the AT&Ts and MCIs of the world megabucks to lease their fiber, never understanding they could have almost unlimited bandwidth at a cheaper rate if they only secured their own. Verizon in the Northeast has started a FiOS service, which is essentially fiber directly to the home. Our internet and phone service runs over it and they'll be supporting TV by the end of the year. We got lucky, however, since our area is one of the guinea pigs and our neighborhood is new. They're behind schedule in the roll out, but only because so many people want it. We get 5 MBps for $29.95 and you can get 10 Mbps for $39.95 and the reliability has been wonderful. __________________ She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! She loves you, yeah! how do you know? how do you know?

04-02-2006, 09:28 AM	#13
MacroGuru Coordinator Join Date: May 2003 Location: Utah	Here in Utah, we have a network call the utopia network, and I watched them drop the fibre right in front of my house, I am just waiting on an ISP to support it, because I can go anywhere from 10 MBit up/down to 100 MBit up/down. I just think that if the infrastructure will be built out or grown as the demand increases __________________ "forgetting what is in the past, I strive for the future"

04-01-2006, 06:46 PM	#2
Desnudo Coordinator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Here and There	It's all plastics these days.

04-01-2006, 06:53 PM	#3
Glengoyne Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Fresno, CA	My local Telco offered to pull a fibre trunk into our office for about 4k/month. We aren't exactly in the technological center of the universe, so I imagine that it's deployed fairly widely.

04-01-2006, 07:28 PM	#5
Daimyo College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Berkeley	I thought everything was already fiber? When we opened a satellite campus in Miami we had fiber run and it seemed like the entire Coral Gables area already had it run everywhere.

04-01-2006, 07:29 PM	#6
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	Fiber is still a lot more expensive than copper.

04-01-2006, 07:33 PM	#7
Galaril Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2004	This is a little off track but I lived in South Korea for years and the whole country well at least all the urban areas which is nearly everywhere has fiberoptics layed down at government expense. No charge well except through taxes but they didn't go up all that much at the time. So, every house and company has it running into the building.

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