[1st-mile-nm] NLR & Darkstrand

[John Osmon]

On Tue, Jun 24, 2008 at 12:27:38PM -0600, Gary Gomes wrote:
[...]
> Alternatives to QWEST may exist in the Albuquerque area for metro
> connectivity and the Las Cruces area may (with a lot of work, time and luck)
> be able to create a regional consortium to access the El Paso POP; how about
> the rest of the state?

There are some alternatives -- but they still aren't cheap.  It's not
that hard to build a shared infrastructure hub in any given city in 
New Mexico, and then buy a single backhaul.  Everyone attaching to
that hub gets to collectively share in the backhaul costs.  It 
can be built on the incumbents network, and gets a first step in
place.

There is at least one commercial entity that has built such a network, 
and can currently deliver MPLS/IP connectivity to 20+ cities around
New Mexico.  Their pricing also includes the costs to manage
the hub equipment, monitor the network, etc.  They'll even give you
Internet access along with the transport around the state.

It's all based on available TDM services, but if enough people would
buy from them, they'd be happy to scale things up.  They'll also
sell ethernet connectivity if you want to work with them to find
a way to deliver it locally.  I know that they would be willing to 
build and manage fiber from the hub to your premise if it made 
financial sense

Alternatives exsit if people will work together. So find some neighbors
and businesses that want to share the cost of building fiber!  Get the
connectivity going in some small areas, and then interconnect them
when the opportunity is right -- it doesn't have to be done all
at once...