But aren't they delivering cable TV services too using that fiber? If so, how do they do that over the old copper? Not sure what the point is to getting fiber to within 1/2 mile and then stopping.
It's much easier and cheaper to splice copper wires (even coax) and terminate it into equipment than doing it with fibre.
So "fiber to the block" is pretty common, and copper the last 1,000 feet can easily handle all the standard amounts of required bandwidth
I guess that depends on what the standard amounts of required bandwidth are. You sure aren't going to get 100+ mbit/sec over 1000 ft of 50 year old copper telephone wire. Here in NJ Verizon Fios is fiber up to the house. Which is what you would need to equal what I and many others have through cable/internet. People that have copper for the last 1000 ft, are they getting cable TV and internet through that pipe?
Oh, sure. To get decent throughput (by modern standards) that last 1,000 feet has to be coax, not twisted pair...
I'm not quite sure where the neighbohood fiber -> coax box is here (and yes, I've searched..) but I can tell you our coax gets us 100 meg plus numerous HD tv channels
Then we are pretty much in agreement. I was responding in this context:
"Here "fibre" isn't necessarily (or even generally) fibre to the door. The main trunk is fibre here - but the last half mile is 50 year old buried copper. "
I took that to mean 50 year old telephone wire, which is usually what people mean by "copper". If it's coax, eg cable TV, then it can support higher rates.
I have been hearing about the death of copper for 40 years and what has been happening is they keep getting more speed out of it. We have
1gb Ethernet running on 2 twisted pairs right now and I remember when they were saying 16 mb might be the limit. I agree 50-60 year old copper sucked but if it was replaced in the last 30 years I bet they can get over 100mb out of it, particularly if they used all 3 pairs in the typical flooded drop cable of the late 80s.
I can't speak for every county and city but that is certainly the way it works in Lee County. You can go to LEEPA.ORG, punch in the address and see the property lines. This is a shot of my house with the property lines in yellow.
They just own the 100' wide right of way behind me. It used to be a railroad track before WWII.
Except when it can't even handle analogue voice.
Does here too, but that's not what Bell advertises and supplies. They are on 50 year old twisted pair (Cat 3 at best)
We are in 'seventies copper
I guess that we were lucky that after deregulation, Sprint swooped in and buried all new wire. I think the plan at the time was that it would be fiber on the curb and the wire to the house. I am not sure what happened to the fiber but they don't mark it anymore.
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