[1st-mile-nm] Santa Fe Fiber Conduit Project Update

[John Brown]

Another part of the issue is, will this be engineered properly.
Saying you are going to place a conduit in the ground that others can use is a nice simple statement.
But it doesn't disclose anything to do about the size of that conduit.
You size the conduit based on the size of the cable(s) you plan to pull through it.
So if they put a 2" pipe in, that really won't let more than maybe one or two providers in.
If you DO NOT put some sort of inter-duct in, then the next guy/gal to come along with cable runs the very HIGH RISK of snagging the first cable.
So you solve this by putting in inter-duct.  But that takes up volume in the pipe, and there is a finite amount of duct you can put into a pipe.

So let's say you size this as a 4" pipe, and place (4) 1" inter-ducts in.  That limits you to 4 providers, or 4 cables.
Those cables are limited in size because of the 1" inter-duct size.  You are at best going to get maybe a 144, or a 216 count cable.  That is NOT enough for today/future.

Then you have the entire "who is responsible for maintaining it".  Where does the finger pointing go when something doesn't work?

Can a service provider come along and intercept the conduit mid-way ??  
How are the other provider cables protected? Who is responsible for that?
What happens if it breaks?

I'd love to know what they mean by "private interconnection facilities".

Based on what I've seen of the City's previous "engineering", they would be better served by CHANGING the current, highly abusive, telcom franchise, into something that PROMOTES and SUPPORTS private-sector coming to Santa Fe and building. 

Instead of wasting money on these "Conduits to No Where".

The City Leadership, implemented a franchise ordinance that PROHIBITS (via high cost fees paid to the City) the deployment of competitive fiber networks.  

The City is now spending hundreds of thousands (estimated) defending a federal lawsuit, rightfully brought by Qwest against the City.

This is the SECOND time the City Leadership has tried to impose anti-competitive restrictions on service providers.  The first time, Qwest sued in Federal Court and the City LOST.   I suspect they will LOOSE again.

If the people of Santa Fe want fiber to the home, to the small business, then those people MUST tell their elected officials to create a regulatory environment that promotes such activities. 



> -----Original Message-----
> From: 1st-mile-nm-bounces at mailman.dcn.org [mailto:1st-mile-nm-
> bounces at mailman.dcn.org] On Behalf Of Christopher Mitchell
> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 8:51 AM
> To: rl at 1st-mile.com
> Cc: 1st mile nm
> Subject: Re: [1st-mile-nm] Santa Fe Fiber Conduit Project Update
> 
> The part I don't understand about these approaches (Seattle did something
> similar in one neighborhood) is how this results in real competition and
> investment.  It seems at best a stopgap... moving from having only 1 or 2
> providers to perhaps 3 or 4.  This is an improvement, but there is a real limit
> on how many service providers can share this approach.
> 
> And presumably, most service providers are not interested in the
> investments necessary for universal service, so the benefit generally seem
> very limited to me.  Am I missing something?  Thanks
> 
> 
> Christopher Mitchell
> Director, Telecommunications as Commons Initiative Institute for Local Self-
> Reliance
> 
> http://www.muninetworks.org
> 
> @communitynets
> 612-276-3456 x209
> 
> 
> 
> On Sat, Dec 10, 2011 at 4:08 PM, Richard Lowenberg <rl at 1st-mile.com>
> wrote:
> 
> 
> 	 Following are some excerpts from an article in today's New Mexican.
> 	 To read the entire article, go to:
> 	 www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/City-aims-to-
> upgrade-Internet-access
> 
> 
> 	>>A proposal to improve broadband access in the city initially was
> 	>> included on a list of property-tax bond projects that voters will
> 	>> decide on during March's municipal election. However, city
> councilors
> 	>> last week decided instead to allocate $1 million for the broadband
> 	>> project from a $23 million bond issue that doesn't require voter
> 	>> approval. That bond issue will be paid off with revenues from an
> 	>> existing gross-receipts tax.
> 
> 	 The basic idea, according to Sean Moody, a city Economic
> Development
> 	 Division project planner, is for the city to install the infrastructure
> 	 for high-speed Internet - empty conduit and access points from the
> 	 underground pipes to privately owned interconnection facilities.
> Those
> 	 pipes can be filled with fiber optic cables by companies that want to
> 	 start providing high-speed service. The intention is that such service
> 	 could be made available at a more competitive price and in areas
> where
> 	 it's not even an option now. <<
> 
> 
> 	>>Moody's proposal envisions three corridors where users are or
> could
> 	>> be, but critical decisions can't be made until the next step when
> the
> 	>> city spends up to $130,000 of the planned allocation to hire a
> 	>> professional business consultant to put together an analysis and
> 	>> engineering plan.
> 
> 	 Empty pipelines already exist underground in the recently
> redeveloped
> 	 Santa Fe Railyard, where officials laid the pipes with the hope that
> 	 someone would run fiber optic cables through them later. In the St.
> 	 Michael's Drive corridor, the city would have to trench and bury new
> 	 conduit that could connect with the pre-piped campus of the Santa
> Fe
> 	 University of Art and Design. The third potential service area is the
> 	 Santa Fe Municipal Airport on the southwestern edge of the city, but
> 	 that facility does not have any infrastructure in place for fiber
> 	 optics. <<
> 
> 
> 
> 	--
> 	 Richard Lowenberg
> 	 1st-Mile Institute
> 	 Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
> 	 505-989-9110 / 505-603-5200
> 	 www.1st-mile.com
> 	 rl at 1st-mile.com
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>