> Sounds like an AynRandian pseudo capitalism. (yeah, I know the right has
> cherry-picked her writings). Free markets in real life aren't such a
> black and white issue. Rural electrification and later with phone lines
> were actually of great economic benefit "cost-per-mile" aside. As this
> virus is demonstrating we have to be team players. Hopefully when this
> blows over as much as can be expected the US heath system may finally be
> forced to ealize that truth.
Massive infrastructure projects like rural electrification or phone
lines outside of town have negative ROI on a per-customer basis. The
replacement cycle of the lines and equipment is far shorter than the
payback. The average cost to bury ANY type of cable/fiber is averaging
about $150,000 per mile. The equipment and other facilities required
to support the services across that cable are probably another
$150,000. If you are averaging only four households across each mile
of cable/fiber, that's $75,000 that has to be recovered. To service
each household for JUST internet access is about $30 per month. The
outside plant (fiber/cable) has a 20 year lifespan (average) and the
equipment no more than 7. So, $156 per month for fiber, $446 for
equipment/facilities. So, about $632 per month is what we need to
charge a customer in the country just to break even. I thought my
numbers looked a little off, but given that our network has to double
in size EVERY 18 months to support same number of customers, it's
about right. It usually takes about 20 customers per mile to reach any
form of break-even.
In hindsight, it probably would have been better if we DIDN'T do rural
electrification, and instead stuck with renewable (wind, solar) energy
for everybody in the country.
Alaska is very much an on-grid, off-grid environment. I live in
Anchorage (Eagle River, to be precise), and we're exactly like any
other midsize city around the country. However, within a half-hour
drive, I can be off-grid and outside of any infrastructure, including
roads, power, communications, etc. The telecom industry provides full
Internet connectivity to literally every community in the state. Some
of those are through satellite, but others through massive microwave
networks for fiber networks.
Have I got stories! The adventures here are in a league of their own.
Alas, many of them I can't tell you about because of the NDA. But I am
safe to say that we have wind/icing conditions that affect our
facilities unlike anywhere else on earth. If you've ever watched
Deadliest Catch, keep in mind that they are often times fishing not
that far off from land, and there may be a communications tower right
there experiencing the same icing conditions. The rains and snow don't
actually "fall". They go sideways until reaching an object. And that
object might be standing on ground that is shaking half the time from
earthquakes. (Few structures in these areas have foundations, but
instead are sitting on "sleepers" and cabled down sometimes). Speaking
of earthquakes, anybody want to guess what land movement does to
buried fiber-optic cables? Or avalanches and rock-slides?
And then there is the 3000 miles of undersea....
I love it here.
AK Schnozz
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