NYC's Educational Dark Fiber Network

An anonymous reader submits "A group of educational leaders in New York City has created a new fiber backbone network off previously layed but unused fiber. Connecting many city NYSERNet members (the Museum of Natural History, CUNY, Mt. Sinai-NYU Medical, Cornell Med., Columbia Med., and Columbia's primary campus), the newly activated backbone connects to Internet2 and commodity Internet and intends to be largely used for video streaming. Original plan info here."

Comments

Say No More

[CleverNickedName]

intends to be largely used for video streaming.

*Wink wink*

Re:A lot of this?

[Jouser]

Yes, there is a lot. During the dot-com boom lots of companies/startups were running and laying fiber. Since the dot-com bust, all the fiber became unlit and hence dark fiber.

In Ohio we've recently completed our Third Frontier Network which was largely built from dark fiber.

The speed of dark

[Matey-O]

Having dark capacity isn't surprising when you look at the economics.

1. Cost of laying a single strand of fiber: $12,000,000 NewYenRubles

2. Cost of laying 24 strands of fiber:
$12,000,001 NewYenRubles

At the time I worked for the local DOT, they laid 22 odd strands of fiber down the major highways in town, and used the revenue generated from selling off fiber to halp fund the project. It's good for the DOT as it lowers costs, and it's good for Telco/ISP/whoever because they don't have to dig a seonc trench, obtain permission, rip up roads again, etc.

Re:A lot of this?

[Rasta Prefect]

Since the dot-com bust, all the fiber became unlit and hence dark fiber.

This isn't the only source of unused fiber - The majority of the fiber in the ground has never been lit. It costs almost as much to lay one strand as a hundred, so everybody laid a hundred, plus empty conduit it could be blown through later. The stuff on the ends however, is expensive, so they don't light it till they need it.