
AT&T’s fiber deployment: 1Gbps for the rich, 768kbps for the poor - mabey
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/04/att-brings-fiber-to-rich-areas-while-the-rest-are-stuck-on-dsl-study-finds/
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nickpsecurity
"Our analysis finds that AT&T has built its all-fiber network
disproportionately in higher income communities. "

This isn't bad. I was thinking of proposing this exact thing for a local,
high-speed ISP. I was going to say focus on denser, high-income residential
and city just because you recover your costs back faster. On top of that, it's
easier to upsell them on high-margin services that increase either profit or
growth. The backbones-connected sites where ISP's can get cheaper bandwidth
[in long run] are also usually close to such areas since they were similarly
targeting profitable regions. Now, I have less data on that last claim to say
how often its true or exactly how close customers are. I've just often seen
cases where new ISP's might be able to get a quick start targeting the homes
or businesses physically close to those sites for cheaper fiber. A bootstrap
option.

"However, the copper could be replaced by wireless networks instead of fiber
in areas where fiber rollouts aren't cost-effective. AT&T is deploying a
10Mbps fixed wireless service in order to meet its Connect America Fund
obligations."

Now, this is a decent idea. NEPA, a small ISP with wireless, was already here
showing it can work:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13688595](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13688595)

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mattkrea
I, too, would target the areas that would quickly récup the costs of the fiber
I just paid out. Why deploy if people can't afford $100+/month internet
service? (guessing on that price.. I pay $120 for 200mbps today)

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at-fates-hands
I see Ars is at it again with its Liberal class warfare articles.

I find it humorous how we complain about how low income families are having
such a hard time being trampled under foot by the out of control corporate
greed. And here we are, complaining about. . .

Internet access that's _only_ 768Kbps.

I mean, are you really still that poor if you can afford a smartphone,
internet access, a computer, a wireless router and a cable modem? I've been to
places in South Africa and Haiti where people are just happy to have clean
water to wash their clothes and drink.

The notion that we are making a big deal out of this is absurd and laughable.

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nickpsecurity
"Internet access that's only 768Kbps."

The problem is that cell service and sometimes Internet services are becoming
close to a necessity for getting jobs or cheap goods. There's a lot of people
in rural areas kind of stuck because they don't have such things or have them
periodically. I know some. Two of my family members were in that situation
with one sort of out of it now. She got a job right after I bought her a
single month of phone time. She had to borrow time on our PC and Internet to
do all the online applications. All she needed were two things hard to get for
the poor.

