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US Telecom infrastructure "deficient", too

It's not just bridges falling down in this country, telecommunications infrastructure needs investment, too.

The recent collapse of a major bridge in Minneapolis raised a nation wide debate on the need for investment in our infrastructure. Infrastructure is what differentiates the developed world from the developing world. American telecommunications infrastructure is in as dire a need as roads and bridges for new investment.

Almost all cities and towns across the nation rely on one hub or Central Office (CO), meaning that if that hub were to be destroyed, that city would lose all land line telephone connectivity with the outside world. Even with the growth of competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), fewer than 10% of those CLECs have facilities truly separate from the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCS). Between 1990 and 1999, the number of RBOC Central Offices grew less than one percent to a nation wide total of 9,968, while the total number of phone lines grew by 34% according to the Federal Communications Commission.

The RBOCs are not likely to make investment in their existing copper wire infrastructure for a number of reasons. Given the lower cost per subscriber and higher potential ARPU of WiMAX, the smarter dollars in telecommunications infrastructure will go to WiMAX and IMS-based technologies. Unlike the Bell monopoly of the last century, WiMAX and IMS enable interconnecting separately funded and engineered networks. Municipalities need not wait for a service provider to "wire" their city. Enterprises can deploy their own private networks, and entrepreneurs are always welcome to finance and build their for-profit networks. So, unlike waiting for the federal government to fix a "structurally deficient" bridge, a number of community actors can deploy WiMAX as a cure for "deficient" telecommunications infrastructure.

Frank Ohrtman
WMX Systems

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Thursday, August 16, 2007 in ArchivesBusinessEquipment  | Permalink |  Comments (0)


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