Irregulators
Breaking the chains of chokepoint capitalism
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What is the evidence that dark fiber remains unutilized?
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What is the evidence that dark fiber remains unutilized?
Our Chat GPT broadband community advisor answered:
The evidence indicating that a significant portion of dark fiber (fiber-optic infrastructure that has been installed but is not currently in use) remains unutilized comes from the following points highlighted in the document:
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Underutilized Fiber Infrastructure: It’s noted that a substantial amount of the fiber-optic wires installed by major telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon have never been activated. This ‘dark fiber’ could be repurposed for use in municipal open access networks, but remains unutilized as of the document’s writing​​.
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Misallocation of Resources: The telecom companies have been criticized for their misallocation of resources. They focused on developing wireless infrastructure at the expense of the promised fiber to the home and office upgrades. This implies that while significant investments were made in laying fiber-optic lines, the primary focus was not on activating these lines for the intended purpose of providing high-speed internet access to homes and businesses​​.
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Non-Fulfillment of Upgrade Commitments: The context of unutilized dark fiber is also linked to the broader issue of the telecom companies’ failure to fulfill their commitments to upgrade their networks. The companies collected funds for fiber-optic upgrades but instead diverted these resources to other areas, such as wireless networks, leaving the installed fiber-optic infrastructure underused or inactive​​​​.
The combination of these points paints a picture of a telecommunications industry that has invested in the physical infrastructure of fiber-optics but has not fully utilized this infrastructure to deliver the promised high-speed internet services to all customers, especially in less profitable rural and low-income urban areas. This underutilization of dark fiber represents a missed opportunity for enhancing broadband connectivity and reducing the digital divide.
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