Re: ISP's In Uproar Over Verizon-MCI Merger

[Sean Figgins <sean () labrats us>]

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005, Jared Mauch wrote:

>       I once spoke to a construction manager at comcast for their
> network buildouts.  With my local township, they need to have 20 homes
> per linear mile along the route to justify a build.  While my street
> has 11 homes, and 3 adjacent (where my private road meets the main road)
> there are an insufficent number of homes along the route to reach here.

Given it is Comcast, it appears that they are not interested.  I know that
some companies will do it if you pay for part of the construction.  Of
course, if it is just you, you probably would not want to foot the bill.
Now, if the neighbors all pitched in, it would be more affordable.

And don't even get me started about "homes passed" and "subscriber uptake"
rates.  Given that most companies really have no idea where their plant
is, or the actual number of homes passed, it's all a number's shell game.

>       They also won't go more than 150' out of the way/on your
> property due to concern about signal loss.

What they say, anyways.  I'm not into plant construction, so I can not say
for certain what the signal loss is over 150 foot.  I would guess that it
is more of an excuse, rather than an explanation.  Also, the local markets
are on the hook for P&L (generally speaking), so they would not want to
build something that would not have immediate payback.

> I've considered running my own conduit/fiber loop on the street with my
> other neighbors and providing that as a carrot to lower the cost for
> their network builds.  I've been meaning to call the construction
> manager back and ask if this would get them to reconsider as well as a
> few of the nearby projects that will likely bring their plant slightly
> closer to me.

What was the distance?  I am thinking that they probably would want to
avoid using your fiber/conduit.  Probably the only way to get them to
reconsider is cold, hard cash.

A sales guy of mine has been quoted a dollar amount to build to his
property, along with the 4-5 neighbors.  But, I think he might be able to
get it built for free now, after waiting for 3 years.  We'll see what
happens.

I really imagine that the "broadband penetration" publications are, like
most things, manipulated to prove your point, whatever that might be.

 -Sean