Lawrence Kansas mulls common carrier fiber infrastructure mandate

Lawrence City Hall struggles with what role to play in broadband competition / LJWorld.com: City commissioners are being asked to make a decision on a technical question commonly referred to as “common carriage" or "open access” of future fiber optic networks. Common carriage would allow for multiple Internet service providers to operate on a single network of fiber optic cables rather than each company burying its own set of cables.

It's difficult to understand why city staff is grappling with this question. So-called facilities-based competition is wasteful. There's no point in having redundant fiber optic infrastructure when a single strand of fiber can handle all the Internet traffic the city could possibly generate over the foreseeable. Open access common carrier infrastructure would also enable competing providers to offer Internet-based services, benefiting consumers.

Allowing a provider to build its own infrastructure rather than treating it as common carriage might well prove more financially expedient in the short term since private providers would be motivated to quickly build out fiber to serve neighborhoods deemed most immediately profitable. But once that's done, the rest of the city would likely be left unconnected. ("Hello, this is Lawrence via dialup. Is anybody there? Anybody at all?")

The policy question under consideration in Lawrence is being mirrored at the federal level as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is considering placing Internet telecommunications under common carrier regulation under Title II of the federal Communications Act.

Kentucky middle mile telecom infrastructure project needs solid last mile solution

 

Kentucky.gov: - Governor Beshear, Congressman Hal Rogers Launch Statewide Broadband Initiative, Beginning in Eastern Kentucky: The first stage of the project is to build the main broadband fiber lines across the state. These major fiber lines are called the “middle mile.” The “open access” network will allow the private sector to use the fiber to deliver services into communities. Once complete, other Internet service provider companies, cities, partnerships, or other groups may then tap into those “middle mile” lines to complete the “last mile” – the lines that run to individual homes or businesses.

This last sentence is key and delineates between what's actually planned to be built and what's theoretically hoped to be. Without those last mile ISPs, Kentucky will end up with an incomplete network, condemning many of its residents to continued subpar Internet service. It would be like building an expressway and having gravel or dirt roads at the exits and on ramps. As the news release from Gov. Beshear's office notes, Kentucky rates poorly compared to other states on Internet access. That sad statistic is unlikely to improve without a solid plan to build fiber to the premise infrastructure to serve the last mile.

Historically, middle mile projects like this one do a good job getting anchor institutions like schools, libraries and government offices connected. But that doesn't automatically mean nearby homes and small businesses will get connections and can even hinder their getting service as network expert Andrew Cohill has noted since the network operators tend to concentrate their efforts on serving anchor institutions and figure someone else can solve the last mile problem. That someone else has typically proven to be nonexistent. It's essentially a funding problem since there tends to be insufficient and/or uncertain future revenues to attract those interested in investing in the needed infrastructure to bridge the last mile to homes and small businesses.

In Utah, the private funding partner of the Kentucky initiative, Macquarie Capital Group, is working with the Utah Open Telecommunications Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA) on an open access fiber to the premise project serving 11 cities. That project solves the last mile funding problem by treating the fiber to the premise infrastructure as public works, funded in part by fees assessed on property owners. Which makes sense since these properties collectively benefit by being able to access the various economic, educational, health care and other services made possible with fiber connections. Kentucky would be wise to draw upon the Macquarie/UTOPIA partnership to plan and construct a complete fiber telecommunications network that will serve all its residents in the 21st century.

Incumbent telcos, cablecos should reconsider shunning wholesale open access fiber networks

Incumbent telephone and cable companies that enjoy a natural monopoly over last mile Internet infrastructure connecting customer premises have been loath to offer services over open access, wholesale fiber to the premise (FTTP) networks like the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA) system. In some states, they’ve even successfully supported legislation outlawing or making the creation of publicly operated open access networks difficult. As monopolies, they want control over both the “pipe” serving customer premises and the services provided over it. Having control over the premise connection is essential to this business model since it puts the incumbents in the dominant position with regard to selling their proprietary services.

But with a growing chorus of calls for competition for Internet service from the White House, members of Congress, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and consumer advocates, the threat of federal antitrust litigation to break up the incumbents’ last mile monopolies has increased. 

Given that possibility, incumbents might want to reconsider their flat refusal to do business with wholesale open access fiber networks. If they chose to purchase access to wholesale networks to sell retail services to customer premises, they’d likely appear to be far less insular and monopolistic in the eyes of the government. Doing business with wholesale, open access fiber networks would also spare the incumbents –largely reliant on metal wire and cable last mile infrastructure – from the expense of having to upgrade their last mile plants to fiber in areas where these networks exist and allow them to reach customer premises outside their limited footprints.

Financial distress of PPP toll road projects holds lesson for telecom infrastructure

Are US toll roads in crisis? | Jacques Cook | LinkedIn: In a recent article “On the Road: Navigating the twists and turns of US highway P3s” (Dec. 8, 2014), Michael Dunning describes some of the serious financial difficulties facing some of the most important US P3 toll roads. He notes that the Indiana Toll Road, once described as a trend setter in the US P3 market, has declared bankruptcy; while several major projects in California (SR-125), Texas (SH-130), Virginia (I-495 Hot Lanes, Pocahantas Highway) and Illinois (Chicago Skyway) are also in financial distress and in various stages of bankruptcy and restructuring. These are not encouraging signs for the US P3 market. Dunning notes however that there are important lessons to be learned from these transactions.

While each of these projects was funded at different times and under different legal and institutional frameworks, they share one common characteristic—they were being funded entirely with tolls paid by automobiles and trucks.

The experience here can be applied to other costly infrastructure projects like modernizing and building out fiber optic telecommunications networks. Relying completely on user fees for its financing heightens the risk of insolvency.