Story: When narrow minds meet next-gen broadband
killer apps?
This apparent search for a killer app to justify the investment is very odd. Surely the great advantage of fibre over copper is that instead of only being able to deliver only two things concurrently (low-quality telephony and Internet access) the single fibre to the home can deliver multiple concurrent services from multiple suppliers.
It is the aggregate of all these services that justifies the Access capacity provision. 'Killer app' thinking is rooted in the old world where Access and Services are bundled. With open access (carrier neutral) designs nothing ever needs to be un-bundled because the local fibre network is from inception never ever bundled. Take for example the Swedish town of Vasteras where the local fibre network can be used to access more than 86 services from 30 different suppliers - many of whom are offering niche services alongside the more obvious TV and Telephony services.
A typical future family home may have 2 or more different Internet services (for business, domestic and educational use) plus telephony providers, TV and audio channels and a range other always-on services including security and surveillance, meter-reading, environmental monitors and various community services.
We have to get away from the old notion that the access connection and the services are inflexibly tied together. Changing services and providers should be just like selecting different TV programmes. Without this approach we will miss out on much of the benefit of fibre, especially the opportunities to enable easy market entry for a vast range of innovative and competitive services.
Potential investors in local fibre networks should get their heads around how to maximise the number of service providers available at the local head-end so that the access capacity can be sold umpteen times over - and perhaps a good starting point would be to look at the numerous examples that have sprung up all over Europe in recent years.
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