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FTTH Coming To Lincoln, Nebraska

Posted by timothy on from the nice-folks-that-way dept.

andyring writes: Lincoln, Neb., in the heart of silicon prairie is getting gigabit fiber to every home and business in the next four years. It's a wet dream for anyone in the tech world. No install fees, no contracts, no modem rentals, guaranteed minimum of 100 mbit, no throttling, etc. It'll provide phone and TV as well. I've read the entire franchise agreement and it's a very good arrangement for the city. Interestingly enough, it's largely possible because back in the 1970s, a public works guy had the brilliant idea to install conduit to all the city's traffic signals. So there's more than 300 miles of conduit already installed and leasable. A local company, Nelnet, bought a western Nebraska company, Allo Communications, apparently because the top Nelnet guy couldn't get fiber to his home very easily. So he figured, heck, I'll just buy the company and get fiber to the whole city.

45 comments

  1. It's a lot easier to pull off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    When you've got a city laid out like this:

    http://www.streetlookup.com/city/lincoln-map.html

    Just saying.

    1. Re:It's a lot easier to pull off by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 2

      Not so much the layout as the size as well. Phoenix is laid out like this, only the area it covers is vast. We also have conduit everywhere, and even already existing fiber (both dark and otherwise.) Supposedly Tempe already hammered out an agreement for Google to begin deploying fiber here, until Cox sued the city to stop it from happening (I think that lawsuit is still pending.) Probably not coincidentally, Cox has been deploying its own FTTH services all over Tempe (or at least, there's city-placed orange signs everywhere indicating ordinances about Cox fiber service being deployed, similar to what happens i.e. during zoning changes) so perhaps it's just a play to beat Google to the punch, who knows.

    2. Re:It's a lot easier to pull off by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      When you've got a city laid out like this

      Why not implement the cabinet system that the UK uses?

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
    3. Re:It's a lot easier to pull off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's horribly expensive to maintain and upgrade. Batteries are required in every one of these boxes that need to be replaced when spent and are regularly stolen. Unfortunately this is the failed system our worthless politicians in Oz want to introduce.

    4. Re:It's a lot easier to pull off by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      It's horribly expensive to maintain and upgrade.

      Are you kidding? It's significantly cheaper to install a secondary cabinet and connect the adjacent box to it when significant additions are necessary than doing completely new lines from the exchange for each additional line added, upgrades and avoids issues caused by distance from the end points. Maintenance is almost entirely done through automation through specialised management teams, except when hardware fails (which in the last areas I've lived in with exchanges, didn't seem to happen) where engineers are dispatched and simply install replacement hardware?

      Batteries are required in every one of these boxes that need to be replaced when spent and are regularly stolen.

      The cabinets nor the batteries are not regularly stolen, where are you even coming up with this? I even searched the news and failed to find anything of the sort happening to BT openreach (the infrastructure providers) on anything like this.

      Unfortunately this is the failed system

      If it's failed, it wouldn't be doing better than a vast amount of other countries.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  2. Scratching an itch by RandomFactor · · Score: 2

    Doesn't just work for software apparently. That public works guy sounds like a hero.

    Be nice if the city here would work on things like this instead of putting our lanes on a diet so they can screw up traffic squeezing in bike paths.

    --
    --- Mercutio was right.
    1. Re:Scratching an itch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      those damn bike lanes screwed up my parking spots for concerns at the bourbon, had no clue about the fiber for the traffic lights, be nice if they could time a few more of them to where you don't go from red to red to red to red to red....

    2. Re:Scratching an itch by ultranova · · Score: 1

      That public works guy sounds like a hero.

      Indeed. It'll be interesting to see how our anti-government types turn this into something bad. Perhaps the public works guy was "an entrepreneur at heart"?

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    3. Re:Scratching an itch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That public works guy sounds like a hero.

      There's probably somebody who thought he was an asshole at the time, given that he was making them do all this work right and proper, when they just wanted it done and over with.

    4. Re:Scratching an itch by mi · · Score: 1

      Indeed. It'll be interesting to see how our anti-government types turn this into something bad.

      Relax. Operating street traffic-devices is accepted as the government's responsibility by almost all Libertarians. As long as running a wire to each light made sense for that purpose, over-provisioning a little bit for a proper conduit is fine.

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    5. Re:Scratching an itch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Libertarians around here thing the government shouldn't even own the streets.

    6. Re:Scratching an itch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Libertarians around here thing the government shouldn't even own the streets.

      You're confusing those with the Anarchists.

    7. Re: Scratching an itch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anarchists are much closer to true libertarians than the ultra-conservative rednecks who co-opted the term.

    8. Re:Scratching an itch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > those damn bike lanes screwed up my parking spots for concerns at the bourbon

      Right, because there aren't literally thousands of parking spots within a 5 minute walk of the Bourbon.

    9. Re:Scratching an itch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > so they can screw up traffic squeezing in bike paths.

      Consider the alternatives:
      1) no changes to traffic lanes.

      Result: Bicyclists are "in traffic". More traffic accidents, as drivers swerve wide to avoid them. ... or more often, don't. And that really sucks for the bike rider.

      2) city buys up more right-of-way to expand roads and put bike lanes in the expanded areas.

      Result: Someone has to pay for that. Most of those people don't ride bikes, so "why should I have to pay for that" attitudes leading to this option not being taken often. As well, it takes considerable time (see #1, above).

      3) City puts the bike lanes in the margins, and reduces lane width.

      Result: not nearly the cost of #2, not nearly the accident rate of #1. Yes, some increase in traffic accidents due to narrower margins. ... And some (but not all) of that increase goes away as people adjust to the new lane width.

      4) City bans bikes from the roadway.

      Result: a very vocal minority is outraged, drive on roads anyway, especially if there is no alternative route. (See #1.)

      Note that this IS done in some cases, varying from state to state. In Washington, as best I recall, no non-motorized traffic on freeways anywhere. In Oregon, only a select few areas that are high traffic AND high speed AND not at all designed for bikes.

      It's a hard case to make, prohibiting an entire class of vehicle from public roadways. Especially while out of the other side of your (governmental) mouth, you're trying to encourage conservation, exercise, etc.

    10. Re: Scratching an itch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Any libertarian, true or not, accepts as a fundamental proposition that a state (the state) should exist.

      Anarchists believe the state is unnecessary.

      Thus, libertarians would say that the state if Nebraska (and perhaps the U.S.A.) is necessary. While an anarchist would say that the only government necessary for running public works is something the size of Lincoln, Nebraska. And that city government may or may not include all the other functions, like policing. But whatever it does it does so without being under the authority of a higher institution.

      There's much more in common between a "small government conservative" and a libertarian than the latter and an anarchist. The difference in the corner is only qualitative, while the latter categorical.

    11. Re:Scratching an itch by dl_sledding · · Score: 1

      I never thought of this angle before; bear with me as I set it up.

      Currently, roadway funding mostly comes from gasoline and diesel taxes. As EVs become more popular, those monies will begin drying up. Governments, always concerned with keeping the money flowing in, are already trying to come up with ways of replacing that revenue from EV drivers.

      From the comments that I have read so far, bicyclists feel that they deserve a lane to themselves, and many cities feel that they should have one as well, where appropriate and safe, for multiple valid reasons.

      So, who is paying for those lanes? Where is the funding coming from to support it? Would a government entity be more amenable to increasing and improving bike lanes if the bicyclists who use them would pony up for the creation and maintenance of the lanes, in some way, shape, or form?

      I am in no way against bike lanes and paths; I think it's a great idea and should be supported and improved, even though I'm not one (I ride on two wheels, but there's a motor between my legs). Just trying to open a discussion and floating an idea or two...

  3. Liquid dreams on my intertube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's a wet dream for anyone in the tech world.[emphasis added]

    Wet copper: short circuit.
    Wet fiber: no problem!

  4. What is the big deal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've had FTTH (Verizon FIOS) for a while now. Too bad you have to turn on the firehose of cash to get anything out of it...

    1. Re:What is the big deal? by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 1

      "Gigabit" would probably be the big deal. Verizon will only give you something like 50mb/50mb, or maybe up to 300/300 if you send them truckloads of cash. It's like expecting everyone to be satisfied with a 56k when the rest of the developed world is at or around 10mb, and charging the same prices anyway.

    2. Re:What is the big deal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm pretty sure I wouldn't notice the difference between 50Mb and 1Gb. I sure wouldn't pay any more for 1 Gb.

  5. The ultimate dark fiber by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Interestingly enough, it's largely possible because back in the 1970s, a public works guy had the brilliant idea to install conduit to all the city's traffic signals.

    There is no form of communications plant more useful than a horizontal hole under the ground. It may be the lowest form of tech, but the highest tech should always be compatible with it.

    For what it's worth, a few years ago, some Time Warner guys were installing new stuff along my street. They dug a hole in every other backyard on one side of the fence line, and ran a mole ram through the ground between holes (the noise from that got my attention). Then they pushed a pipe through, using the bottom half of a soda can to keep dirt out of the end of the pipe. That also gives you an idea of the size of the pipe, because the can fit exactly around the pipe. You can put a lot of wires in a two inch pipe. This being the cable TV company, they probably just put a thick coax and taps in it, but there's still plenty of room for fiber, and maybe even leasing space out to others.

  6. Ain't Silicon Prairie... by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Ain't Silicon Prairie the term that was given to North Sioux City, SD - the city that Gateway 2000 was based in? Before that company first moved to San Diego, and later got bought by Acer? I recall that in those days - last millenium - the joke was that that company employed everyone in SD.

    1. Re:Ain't Silicon Prairie... by pagedout · · Score: 1

      The term has become quite a bit more generic over the years. For historical reasons there is a lot of technical infrastructure along I-29 so we get quite a few businesses springing up to take advantage of it.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    2. Re:Ain't Silicon Prairie... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are many different "silicon prairies". See

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Prairie

  7. Wet dream by Crowd+Computing · · Score: 1

    It's a wet dream for anyone in the tech world.

    Yeah, a technophiliac's wet dream to drown in even more data.

  8. do you have to use there router? by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    do you have to use there router? if so whey can't they just give you an ONT with an Ethernet hand off?

    Also for tv will there be TV box outlet fees?

  9. Yeah, It's Nice by Greyfox · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They ran a metric fuck-ton of fiber under Longmont back in the '90's, just before the state passed a law that municipalities couldn't offer communications services. There was a loophole in the law, though. If a majority of voters in the municipality voted that their municipality would be exempt from this, then they could offer communication services. We had the vote a couple years ago and it passed by something like 86%. 600 mbps up to youtube is pretty nice. I usually upload a few boring skydiving videos a week. Pulling games down from steam in a couple of minutes is also pretty nice. The city can also offer a pretty sweet deal to companies wanting to move into the area. My link to the internet now is faster that most companies' private LAN connections.

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  10. EPB Fiber Optics in Chattanooga TN has this now. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Chattanooga TN already has gigabit capabilities like this. EPB fiber optics can provide gigabit to your home for about 60 bucks a month. They also have phone ans cable service.

  11. The Commons by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    it's largely possible because back in the 1970s, a public works guy had the brilliant idea to install conduit to all the city's traffic signals.

    Thank your government.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  12. Big whoop by khelms · · Score: 1

    I recently tripled my DSL speed from 7MB to 20MB. Some downloads ran much faster, but there was no noticeable change in web browsing. This is kind of like raising the speed limit on the LA expressways to 200mph. Traffic is still going to keep you creeping along at 10mpg during rush hour. In this case, the servers you're connecting to aren't going to magically get any faster.

    1. Re:Big whoop by khelms · · Score: 1

      I meant 10mph although 10mpg is probably correct too.

    2. Re:Big whoop by ledow · · Score: 1

      Yes, but you, your kids, your spouse, your visitors, etc. can all do that at the same time without slowing down. As video streaming is taking off, you can all stream in HD without stuttering.

      And, sorry, but every fecking website on the planet - virtually - can easily swamp a 100Mbps connection at the other end, on demand, whenever it's necessary. Most of the time my servers are sitting bog-idle in their datacentre, even with thousands of hits coming in. It's only when I deliberately transfer, say, a 1Gb file up or down that I see that line full.

      As people move to AWS, etc. that situation only get better. It's rarely the server that's the bottleneck. It's rarely the client that's the bottleneck. The bottleneck is slap-bang in the middle - the ISP and their upstream.

      Which is what makes me dubious here. Every customer gets 100Mb guaranteed? That's one fucking hell of an upload connection they are promising there. 10 customers is a Gigabit leased line somewhere. 1000 customers is 100 Gigabit. The numbers get silly VERY quickly. And that's the MINIMUM they need.

      I want to know who they are peering with at Tb/s "for free"... because that's one hell of a deal.

      However, I suspect - as ever - that the servers at Google, Facebook, YouTube et al are perfectly capable of pushing multiple 4K streams your way at max speed, and your local net and maybe even local connection are capable of similar speeds for data to other local machines, and the ISP is "capable" of similar speeds but they never actually achieve them because they have limited peering, bottlenecks, limits, rate-limits and throttling, because the thinnest piece of pipe is actually the one that connects THEM and their thousands of customers to the Net.

    3. Re:Big whoop by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      Traffic is still going to keep you creeping along at 10mpg during rush hour. In this case, the servers you're connecting to aren't going to magically get any faster.

      I'm glad where I live that isn't really a problem.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
    4. Re:Big whoop by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      Yes, but you, your kids, your spouse, your visitors, etc. can all do that at the same time without slowing down. As video streaming is taking off, you can all stream in HD without stuttering.

      But the upload bandwidth is unchanged and so is the latency.
      Every time you load a web page and it makes a billion requests to load images, ads and scripts there's a latency round trip for each element ; at 20Mb/s down, 1Mb/s up the TCP acknowledgment packets become a problem too (if your HD streaming is done in UDP, good)

      I would choose a 10/10 connection with 15 ms latency over a 20/1 with 30 to 40 ms latency any day.

    5. Re:Big whoop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see what you did there.

  13. Might sound good but.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No install fees, no contracts, no modem rentals, guaranteed minimum of 100 mbit, no throttling, but it's run by a STUDENT LOAN COMPANY!!

    1. Re:Might sound good but.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ivy? (The locals should get this)

  14. Just 100? by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

    Why only 100Mbps? My second fibre home Internet connection connection is 200Mbps and that isn't even using the latest tech available...

    --
    Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
    1. Re:Just 100? by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      It's 1000Mbps although with no guarantee you will get it (mmm, guarantee, warranty? why are there two forms of the same word?)

      I guess that many customers will simply connect using a 100BaseT network interface, or use a 100BaseT switch somewhere in the chain. And that's fine.

    2. Re:Just 100? by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      mmm, guarantee, warranty? why are there two forms of the same word?

      Over here, they're different meanings:

      Guarantee:

      • Takes effect whether or not you have a warranty
      • Whether paid for or not, it is legally binding
      • Sorts out any problems within a fixed period of time

      Warranty:

      • Cannot reduce your guarantee rights
      • Usually a written contract
      • Usually something you pay a premium on
      • Can last longer that a guarantee and cover a variety of more problems or even different problems (ie: it's accepted that a few pixels may be dead on monitors, but a warranty can cover those)
      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  15. Isn't FTTH old news? by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 1

    Gigabit FTTH has been available for nearly a decade in the civilized world.

    1. Re:Isn't FTTH old news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gigabit FTTH has been available for nearly a decade in the civilized world.

      In the rest of the world, yes, but not hear in the USA. There are less than 30 communities with FTTH in the USA today.

      TRUE FTTH allows for the same bandwidth upstream as downstream, thus fiber companies like Verizon FIOS do not qualify as being FTTH. Becasue they are not.

      TRUE FTTH, the home owner owns the last mile. Costs between $1,500 - $3,000 to run the Fiber from the community owned switching station to the home and adds $5,000.00 to the sale price of the home.

      With FTTH, costs less than $0.50 to provide 1 GBps. So extremely profitable to the company/community that provides the Fiber To The Home.

      Cable companies do not want to provide this as it breaks their Scarcity Myth dependent model by which they raise price while giving customers less.

      It's why, there are laws banning Fiber competition in 14 states and imediments to Fiber competition in another 17 states.

      Because of the anti-competitive Fiber laws on the books in the United States of America...its a very, very huge deal whenever another community gets Fiber To The Home.

      Yes Japan had this in 2000, yes the rest of the civilized world has FTTH for a decade or more, but not the oligarchically controlled industry here in the USA. Here cable, telco and wireless companies are allowed to pass laws preventing FTTH. Thus less than 30 communities in the USA have symmetrical and synchronous FTTH (same bandwidth upstream as downstream with no throttling).

      100% of the cable industry throttles bandwidth here in the good ole USA to less than BROADBAND speeds. Its really bad. The only time we get the full advertised bandwidth are the milliseconds during the Speed Test. The millisecond the speed test ends, the provider throttles bandwidth in the USA to extremely low levels. A typical promise of 20Mbps/4Mbps is normally throttled to less than 300Kbps/100Kbps. It is that bad.

      Only consumers with ddWRT, OpenWRT and Tomato firmware enabled firewall/routers can see their true actual bandwidth in real time. Everyone else believes what their providers tell them. They believe the lies. Its pathetic.

  16. Re:EPB Fiber Optics in Chattanooga TN has this now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They're working on 10 gig. Even "pro-business" Jesus freaks get tired of waiting on Corporate America.