Verizon could learn something from The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in the U.K. which took matters into its own hands when it wanted 100 mbps fiber wireless (FiWi) and wired.
Rather than wait an eternity for the local ISP to deliver 100 mbps service, lifeboat crews of the RLNI in Humber, a tidal estuary in northern England, dug trenches to speed the delivery of FiWi. Typically, the ISP completes this work.
The RNLI is partnering with FibreStream which specializes in bringing 100 mbps Internet speeds to rural ‘Notspots’ comprising about 20 per cent of the UK’s population that would likely be the last to get the service.
Last Friday, RNLI lifeboat crews working with local children dug seven kilometers of trenches and applied the ducting through which the fiber will be blown. Apparently, customers digging their own fiber trenches is not uncommon in Europe to defray capital costs.
“The FibreStream approach is based on understanding that networks are about people first and technology second (though we love the geeky stuff too!),” FibreStream spokesman Guy Jarvis was quoted as saying in ISPPreview. He added that children growing up with slow Internet access pay the biggest price, often waiting five minutes to download something.
What makes this story poignant to me is that I just learned that Verizon FIOS (Fiber Optic System) in my neighborhood is on hold, according to a story last week in my local newspaper. That’s after months of watching several Verizon crews on my street and in the neighborhood lay fiber optic cable, whetting our appetites for the FIOS service and badly-needed competition to Comcast (which does offer 50 mbps service, BTW).
Crew members seemed clueless as to when FIOS would be switched on, but guessed mid-Fall. Last week’s story put an end to any hope we will have FIOS soon in my native city and environs. Maybe, I’ll grab my shovel or move to Humber.
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