How do we get access when the fiber cable is in the front yard?
It is frustrating to have the fiber-optic cable in your front yard and not be able to get any type of access to broadband. The cable goes to another community but their distribution is not profitable in reaching my address.
The phone line is not good enough to support dsl and the required distance from the telephone (junction-box or etc) is greater than current limits. Dialup is very poor do to the poor phone line connections.
Satellite connection is expensive and marginal as far as performance is concerned. So how do we provide the stimulus needed to get the lines run in rural areas where the investment is large per subscription as compared to more populated areas?
I feel cheated because we have supported and protected the telephone company franchises all these years and now they are doing little to meet the need where the needs are at least as great as in the populated areas.
Each time I mow over that trench in the front yard where the cable is buried my frustration grows.
Comments
Firstly I would review the legality of that cable using your land. I'm sure they protected themselves against you, but I would review any agreement you have for the cable to transit your land and then if it comes up for renewal, charge them a BUTTLOAD OF MONEY and tell them that if they would bother to peel off one pair of that fiber to land it AT YOUR HOUSE the excess charge would GO AWAY. They can do that: if the fiber is PHYSICALLY PRESENT AT YOUR LOCATION THERE IS NO EXCUSE TO LEAVE YOU DISCONNECTED: there will be one spare pair in that fiber bundle for your use and I would DEMAND IT. The next point is that once your house is connected, you can run your OWN fiber to connect the houses of neighbors.
See http://communityfiber.org. The telcos have been able to buy their way out of accountability and responsibility. Prior to AT&T being broken up in 1984, they were REQUIRED BY LAW TO PROVIDE ANY OFFERED SERVICE TO ANY LOCATION WHATSOEVER (within physical reason. But I know "Caveman Bob", who got them to install PHONE SERVICE IN A CAVE ON THE SIDE OF A HILL, USING BATTERIES.)
Now they can cherry-pick. Major cities have "DSL dead zones" where service is either the slowest (144 kbps) or nonexistent. So all the SUBSIDIES and FAVORS they've gotten from us have done nothing for their conscience: if it serves their bottom line to disserve you, that's what they'll do, and you can go waiting for 100 years.
I say NONSENSE TO THAT.
WE ARE OUR GOVERNMENT
LET US MAKE OURSELVES SERVE OURSELVES.
The least we can do is FORCE OUR PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSIONS to FORCE THE TELCOS to wire up the underserved locations if they want to keep serving the "served" locations. But if that seems "hard", and we do know the telcos would fight it tooth and nail - then let's just BYPASS THE NONSENSE and build our OWN NETWORKS.
You'll still have to argue to get a line out your way - but now you'll be arguing with your city council and fellow townsfolk, and not some could-care-less suit in Washington DC.
See http://communityfiber.org.
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