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story category Smithville Telephone Offers 100Mbps
First carrier in Indiana to reach that mark...
(old news - 11:01AM Wednesday May 06 2009)
tags: Fiber · coverage · business · telco
Telecompetitor directs our attention to the fact that Smithville Telephone, an Ellettsville, Indiana based independent telco, will soon offer 100Mbps fiber service in Indiana. Or at least their press release suggests as much. According to the telco, the company has completed the first leg of a $90 million FTTH project to overbuild their older network. No price is given for a 100Mbps tier, which would be quite a leap for a carrier who's website says that previously fastest speeds topped out at 3Mbps. Smithville telephone says that half of its residential customers will be using the new fiber network within the next twelve months.

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Forums » Smithville Telephone Offers 100Mbps
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Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL
·Comcast

100/100?

"Using light waves to carry digital signals, Smithville’s new FTTH system will transmit data approaching the speed of light—about 186,000 miles per second—with upload and download speeds up to 100 Mbps."

Interesting comment they make. I can understand the "up to", but that's a bit of a stretch if they do not plan on offering upload speeds near 100Mbps.
--
CheckSite.us | YourIP.us | Reverseip.us
RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest

Re: 100/100?

said by Rob See Profile :

"Using light waves to carry digital signals, Smithville’s new FTTH system will transmit data approaching the speed of light—about 186,000 miles per second—with upload and download speeds up to 100 Mbps."
Considering that electricity in a wire travels at close to the speed of light (with variations caused by the particular wire's propagation velocity) their PR hack might want to get more familiar with the product before writing such silly ad copy. There is certainly a higher benefit to hype besides this...

Good to see the little guys out there holding class for how to do it right. Smithville has been unafraid to try new things for some time now. They are a local, privately held corporation and live where the serve, so they don't have to submit to Wall Street's quarterly floggings either.

elbm

join:2000-08-03
Reisterstown, MD
·Verizon FIOS


1 edit

Re: 100/100?

Light traveling in a fiber optic cable generally travels at about 2/3's the speed of light. Electricity, depending on the specific medium, can approach the speed of light in a metallic cable. So fiber optics are actually "slower" than copper transmisions.
iansltx

join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO

Re: 100/100?

Wouldn't single mode fiber (with a very narrow core) make light travel closer to c in said fiber?
bac522

join:2003-08-04
Manchester, NH

Actually light does travel at the speed of light in a fiber, the speed difference comes from the refraction of the protons off of the internal walls of the fiber which happens enough that it essentially increases the actual time it takes for the proton's to get from point A to point B which creates the illusion that light is traveling slower...essentially, the protons in a fiber don't take a direct route.

Electrons travel on the surface of copper at the speed of light and therefore are able to take the proverbial "as the crow flies" route so they get from point A to point B essentially at the speed of light.

Regardless, Smithvilles PR is written poorly.
RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11

Re: 100/100?

I think you mean photons, not protons...
patcat88

join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

said by bac522 See Profile :

Actually light does travel at the speed of light in a fiber, the speed difference comes from the refraction of the protons off of the internal walls of the fiber which happens enough that it essentially increases the actual time it takes for the proton's to get from point A to point B which creates the illusion that light is traveling slower...essentially, the protons in a fiber don't take a direct route.
The transceiver for proton internet would be pretty big and expensive, possibly ionizing and require extensive saftey precautions to be OSHA complaint.
PapaMidnight

join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

Re: 100/100?

Tony Stark could do it...

FastiBook

join:2003-01-08
Newtown, PA

Re: 100/100?

Yea, but then some evil doer would threaten it, and iron man would have to fight them off, sadly, this would create pricing out of reach to most humans, and some others.

- A
--
LETS GO METS!
kieranmullen
Premium
join:2005-12-12
Portland, OR
clubs:
Hey that is a backpack from ghostbusters!

dcurrey
Premium
join:2004-06-29

Nobody company

Well look at that a no name company can do what the big boys can't and/or won't do. If that's not a reason for another break up of bells I don't know what is.

DaveNJ
No Fear

join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

Re: Nobody company

There need to breakup the co's. Make the last mile, consumer based, so the resident owns the equipment.
DarkLogix

join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

Re: Nobody company

that wouldn't work because then youd have people say um I don't want to and hold up the whole neighbor hood

DaveNJ
No Fear

join:1999-09-01
New Jersey
·Comcast
·Patriot Media

Re: Nobody company

said by DarkLogix See Profile :

that wouldn't work because then youd have people say um I don't want to and hold up the whole neighbor hood
Not the point, A last mile corp would offer to wire, or maintain the served area. The resident would lease the infrastructure from the corporation.

wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace

join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
·Verizon FIOS
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·RoadRunner Cable
·BroadVoice

Re: Nobody company

said by DaveNJ See Profile :

A last mile corp would offer to wire, or maintain the served area. The resident would lease the infrastructure from the corporation.
There is nothing stopping any number of companies from doing that right now. I think the biggest hurdle is that its not really a viable business model at this point. The overwhelming majority of people are happy with their $20 DSL/Cable 'lite' tier, and if faced with the option of paying up to a few thousand dollars just for additional internet choices they wont do it.

The other major issue (as I have pointed out before) is that even assuming the entire neighborhood is wired, the nearest carrier hotel could be a few hundred miles away. The price for that longhaul circuit could easily run $50k or more (per month), depending on how rural the area is. Once you factor in the tremendous MRC the whole thing becomes a lot less palatable.
--
When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.
-Ronald Reagan-

bn1221

join:2009-04-29
Cortland, NY
·RoadRunner Cable

90 million Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) overbuild for all of its 30,000 residential customers in the south-central and southern part of the state.
++++++++

That is 3 grand a pop (90million/30,000) JUST for phase one. That is a large capital cost.

DrModem
Premium
join:2006-10-19
USA
·EarthLink
·1and1
·PeoplePC


2 edits

Re: Nobody company

And they obviously think it's worth it.

Also some math, if they charge $30/month it would take 8.3 years for each customer to have their base 3k share paid off. That's not all that much time, especially for a technology that's probably going to be around for decades and still be fast enough. And the bigger customers (IE the ones doing 100/100) will probably be getting charged way more than $30/month.

If they do speed packages right I'm sure they will be able to steal tons of customers from any Cable, WISP or other competition they have with minimal trouble. Especially if the cable is TW

dcurrey
Premium
join:2004-06-29

Re: Nobody company

If they may be planning to abandon the copper plant that will save money in the long run.

Plus they may start offering TV in addition to phone and internet.

mtech

join:2002-10-20
Jonesboro, AR

Re: Nobody company

"Called Fiber-to-the-Home, Smithville’s all-new technology platform will give customers the ability to access the Internet, voice, and television and web based television services at a speed much faster than currently available to most residential customers anywhere in the United States—in rural or urban areas."

The press release announces that they are planning TV, phone and internet.
iansltx

join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
·Comcast
·Qwest.net
·magicjack.com
·BeeCreek Communica..
·Sprint Mobile Broa..

Re: Nobody company

Triple play bundles run around $100 to start, maybe $80 or $90 if it's really basic. Premium content and internet might edge the price up to around $150. $3k doesn't look so bad after all, especially when that's an alternative to people going elsewhere (to cable due to lousy DSL speeds, to cellular or cable for voice, to cable or sat for TV). It's a lot of new revenue due to the buildout...

Shack

join:2002-01-17
Bloomington, IN
That is exactly what thye are doing. Not sure what there TV offering is going to be, they don't share much, but it is planned.
DarkLogix

join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX
·Comcast Workplace
·Comcast

ya $30/month would likely be a slower service
lets assume that they have a whole range of services and just to make it even with other offers out there lets say that their top pack is 100/100+TV+VoIP for $150 (ya just a random price but go with it)

lets say the averages endup being as though 50topend/50lowend

so lets say $90/month per house passed
so 2.7 years ROI
and as its fiber the biggest part of the cost is likely the fiber itsself so a greater speed upgrade would be easy

Rob23

@windstream.net

Re: Nobody company

"Federal loan program (Stimulus bill includes 7.2 billion for broadband loans & grants)from the U.S. Dept of Agriculture " Thank You MR. PRESIDENT.

Josh623

@cableone.net

Re: Nobody company

Yes, they are using the USDA Rural Development Loan program to help fund all this. Looks like it will be a GPON system from CALIX.
travelguy

join:1999-09-03
Santa Fe, NM

said by DrModem See Profile :

Also some math, if they charge $30/month it would take 8.3 years for each customer to have their base 3k share paid off.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid you wouldn't do so well in a Finance 101 class. Your 8.3 year payoff doesn't take into consideration the cost of capital (i.e. the finance charge). Even at current interest rates, that's a significant amount of money. It also ignores the operating costs (both local & content) as well as installation & maintenance (truck rolls are expensive).

The good news is that you probably don't need a 8.3 year payback. Don't know what the standard depreciation schedule is for fiber in the ground, but I would imagine it's at least 20 years. That increases the financing costs, but reduces the monthly payment.
DarkLogix

join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX
·Comcast Workplace
·Comcast

Re: Nobody company

as for operating costs I'm sure they already have an ISP so this is a preexisting cost

and who knows how they paid for it there is the possibility that they had a money pool maintained for just this use (unlikely but its possible)

and also I would think when they said 90mill it was more than just equ (I would guess its Equ+labor+advertising+employee training+ect)

morbo
Complete Your Transaction

join:2002-01-22
00000
clubs:
·Charter Pipeline
·AT&T Southwest

said by bn1221 See Profile :

That is 3 grand a pop (90million/30,000) JUST for phase one. That is a large capital cost.
reasonable for a completely new system. cost is x2 or x3 as much as Verizon or AT&T. they don't quite have the buying or bargaining power of one of the entrenched telcos.
kieranmullen
Premium
join:2005-12-12
Portland, OR
clubs:
I dont want to own my fiber opitc modem! I doubt they are cheap.

battleop

join:2005-09-28
00000

It's great they are going to offer fiber to their customers. Don't get the idea these companies like this one are in it for the greater good of the consumer. These companies are often worse than the big ILECs in terms of a monopoly. I have never dealt with these guys but often these smaller ILECs will bend you over when you need business class services. Try getting a point to point T1 into one of these small LECs and see how bad many of them will screw you.

We pay 3 to 4 times the price on a T1 that terminates in one of these little CLECs as apposed to a Bell or Verizon C0. In some cases I understand when the LEC is in the middle of no where with a small number of customers, but in most cases they gouge your eyes out simply because they can.
iansltx

join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO

Re: Nobody company

Interesting...a T1 is ridiculously expensive back home in Fredericksburg TX where the ILEC is...you probably DIDN'T guess it...Verizon.

battleop

join:2005-09-28
00000

Re: Nobody company

We pay a good bit under $500 for these LD Point to Point T1s that terminate in a major ILEC's CO. If you get the same into one of these small ILECs you can pay from $500 to $1500 depending on how strong their local monopoly is.

wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace

join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
·Verizon FIOS
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·RoadRunner Cable
·BroadVoice

Re: Nobody company

said by battleop See Profile :

We pay a good bit under $500 for these LD Point to Point T1s that terminate in a major ILEC's CO. If you get the same into one of these small ILECs you can pay from $500 to $1500 depending on how strong their local monopoly is.
It is not uncommon to find small LEC DS1's running many thousands of dollars due to loop cost. Heck, even the LEC can charge a few grand just for the loop in a number of areas.....
--
When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.
-Ronald Reagan-


NYState

@rr.com

Re: Nobody company

Verizon I believe is a flat $250 per month for a T1 from the CO to customer in that CO anywhere in NY State. Pretty cheap compared to what an indie ILEC might charge. I've seen many indie ILECs that sell DSL in chunks of 256 kbitps as if its 1995. 1.5 DSL? $150 per month. $60 for 256kbitps. ISDN is suddenly seems cheap.

wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace

join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
·Verizon FIOS
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·RoadRunner Cable
·BroadVoice

Re: Nobody company

said by NYState :

Verizon I believe is a flat $250 per month for a T1 from the CO to customer in that CO anywhere in NY State.
100% false. Verizon's T1's are priced based on mileage, on both the wholesale and retail level. There are many places in NYS where a Verizon T1 (loop) is far more than $250, if one can even be delivered at all.

Eat Me

join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ
·PenTeleData
·Future Nine Corpor..
·VOIPo
·Vonage


1 edit
said by NYState :

Verizon I believe is a flat $250 per month for a T1 from the CO to customer in that CO anywhere in NY State. Pretty cheap compared to what an indie ILEC might charge. I've seen many indie ILECs that sell DSL in chunks of 256 kbitps as if its 1995. 1.5 DSL? $150 per month. $60 for 256kbitps. ISDN is suddenly seems cheap.
Last time I ordered a T1 from Verizon business in NY it cost about $900/mo for 1 year commit.
tmc8080

join:2004-04-24
Floral Park, NY

said by dcurrey See Profile :

Well look at that a no name company can do what the big boys can't and/or won't do. If that's not a reason for another break up of bells I don't know what is.
To be fair.. you might as well lump COMCAST with the telcos as well in their anti-competitive shenanigans! We're also talking about a twc competitor..

WiseOldNerd
De gustibus non est disputandum
Premium
join:2001-11-25
Phoenix, AZ

Could They Buy Qwest?

WOW. Now if they could only leverage a purchase of Qwest and bring that doddering fool of a company into the 21st Century.
--
My perception is REALITY

IowaStudent
Premium
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA
·Mediacom
·Iowa Telecom


1 edit

Re: Could They Buy Qwest?

How about they buy Iowa Telecom?
I'm not an economic's person but if somebody wants to let me know if that's possible their stock symbol is IWA
I from a town of 9000 people and they are servicing 5700 with 100 Meg Internet?

dcurrey
Premium
join:2004-06-29
If anything they would be setting themselves up to be purchased. What would a phone company go for that has already put fios in place.
patcat88

join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

Re: Could They Buy Qwest?

said by dcurrey See Profile :

If anything they would be setting themselves up to be purchased. What would a phone company go for that has already put fios in place.
Have a PON network would be a disservice to any buying telco. Can't use USF $ on PON networks, only on POTS. Plus the beancounters say POTS maintenance is still cheaper, and PR will say it damages the companies reputation that only a tiny area has this fast speed, and Network Security will say a botneted machine on 100/100 is a spammers wet dream.

jadebangle
Premium
join:2007-05-22
Olathe, KS

Price??? 299?399?

It wouldn't be for residential use
More like small business who need super fast connection and can afford to pay for it

See 9 replies to this post
tdouglas22

join:2001-09-25
Memphis, TN

Well alright....

Oh this is very good news. Now if we could just get more broadband deployment out to the more rural parts of the country. Dedicated wireless and maybe even some fiber too. I know I'm being overly optimistic but that's the stuff that the future really is built upon. Dreams and optimism.

ztmike
Mark for moderation
Premium
join:2001-08-02
Michigan City, IN
·Comcast

Re: Well alright....

said by tdouglas22 See Profile :

Dreams and optimism.
Which is all it is here in my neck of the woods.

FastiBook

join:2003-01-08
Newtown, PA

Who will be the first......?

I wanna know who will be the first to offer true dual stream gigabit priced in a range reachable by current mid/top tier users.

- A
--
LETS GO METS!
Forums » Smithville Telephone Offers 100Mbps


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