COMMUNICA | Issue Four
Who should own the
fibre infrastructure
of our future digital
networks?
Gigabit speed ‘fibre to the home’ (FTTH)
is the infrastructure on which the digital
economy of the future will be built. This is a
case for local authority, real estate and land
owner investment.
Stockholm, Sweden is a leading pioneer
of Open Access Broadband and ultra-
fast connectivity.
AS IN ALL business relationships, ownership
equals control, and control is absolutely
necessary for a community to ensure that it
achieves the economic development goals of a
fibre project.
One significant way to ensure digital connectivity
for all citizens is for local authorities to participate in
ownership and have some control over the local digital
infrastructure - however, that’s not the only reason for
public ownership.
As a steward of the public interest, local authorities
have a duty to ensure that public goods and services,
such as essential infrastructure, are widely deployed,
well-maintained and open for use by all citizens non-
discriminately.
Is there any more essential infrastructure in the 21st
century than the physical assets necessary for high-
capacity data services?
Only with public involvement can the current
problems of speed and the growing digital divide be
comprehensively addressed and solved.
A commitment to public ownership of the underlying
fibre infrastructure enables universal access to
broadband, but more; from a financial perspective, the
construction, maintenance and ownership of dark
fibre fit perfectly with the other infrastructure
obligations of local government.
Just as municipalities and counties are responsible for
building and maintaining roads, pipelines, pavements,
curbs and gutters, so too should they be tasked with
building the basic pipe lines for 21st century data
services.
Like most modern technology, active network
equipment has a useful life of between five and
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