The Safe Alternative to Wireless = Fiber Optics Cables
Reliable and affordable access to the Internet does not need to rely on wireless! Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) is safer and more efficient!
The future of broadband is not wireless. Broadband delivered via fiber-optic cables allows signals to be transmitted via lasers twenty (20) kilometers or more through shielded cables. Therefore, fiber-optic networks can be designed to run in the event of power outages, which means that if electrical power is interrupted due to inclement weather or a major power outage, Internet service continues.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the urgency of reliable access to the internet delivered via an affordable and robust broadband architecture. Thus COVID-19 has proven the need for dedicated high-speed, fiber-optic technology.
Fiber-optic technology, not wireless, should play an integral role in remote learning, small business, telehealth, public safety and emergency communication, and economic development.
The telecommunications industry has already been using fiber-optic cables for the past forty (40) years.
Because of the size of Rhode Island, the state has more fiber-optic cable per square mile than any other state in the country. Over forty-eight (48) strands of fiber-optic cable were run on telephone poles throughout the state, yet less than ten (10) strands are being used and only by hospitals, colleges, universities, libraries, and schools.
Rhode Island is already statistically one of the top states in the country for wired broadband infrastructure with 98%[1] of Rhode Islanders having access to wired internet with up to 84%[2] of Rhode Islanders having access to fiber optics internet access.
Fiber optics cables have been funded by public dollars for many years from added fees on telecommunication bills. Here in Rhode Island, 339 miles of a 48 strand fiber backbone were constructed throughout the state, mostly funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009[3]. So let’s use what we already have and what we have already been paying for!
Here are just a few reasons why Fiber-to-the-Premises is the safe and preferable choice:
- Runs directly to the home or business and allows data rates up to 1,000 times faster than wireless.
- Allows for more secure and private transmission (as wireless communications can be surveilled).
- No harmful pulsed microwave/ millimeter wave radiation.
- More resilient as continues to work in case of a power emergency (wireless will not run without power for the “small cell” transmitters and towers).
- Capable of transmitting tremendous amounts of data.
- Infinitely upgradable for up to 40-50 years. As the end point electronics improve, can swap out the electronics to increase the data rate transmitted over the fiber optics cable.
- Will not guzzle energy, unlike the solutions utilized by wireless providers.
[2] https://go.usa.gov/xs2mW The information listed at the FCC portal is aggregated from “self-reported” data via FCC Form 477, but it is the best available information. However, the collected data is typically overstated, as if one building on a census block is wired, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) gets to claim the entire census block is served, which creates a rosy yet inaccurate picture.
[3] https://www2.ntia.doc.gov/files/oshean_case_study_report_order_number_d10pd18645.pdf
