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The colorful symbols painted decorate the streets a few blocks from my home albuquerque, New Mexico. Bright arrows and verifications mark the hidden lines of water and gas. Large trucks with boring machines and vast orange pipelines are parked along the sidewalks. Are here to install fiber for GigapaAn open access network.
When Gigapower arrives at my house, it will not be my Internet services provider. Gigapower represents a different fiber model. This is what Internet customers at home need to know about open access networks.
What is an open access network and how does it work?
Most likely, your home is covered by one or more Internet suppliers, each with its own infrastructure, be it cable, fiber, DSL or 5G, as my internet at T-Mobile’s house. Open access networks turn this concept in your head.
An open access fiber company is installed by a company that then sells access to ISPs. That means you can have multiple suppliers that offer plans for your home. They use the same infrastructure but may have different prices, services and packages.
Don’t be surprised if you haven’t heard about open access networks before. “Open access is not conventional,” says Gary Bolton, president and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association. “It is a kind of edge case in the United States.”
Bolton says that the concept is more widespread in countries where regulations and government participation mean that open access is common.
You are about to listen more about open access networks thanks to Gigapower’s ambitious plans to expand the fiber to previously overlooked communities. “From the perspective of an operator, it is obvious because someone else has the cost of building the network,” says Bolton.
Types of open access networks: Versus Commercial Community
You will find two types of open access networks in the US. UU. Municipal property networks are owned by cities. Private companies have commercial networks. Both work similarly, generally with multiple ISPs competing for customers.
He Open Telecommunications Infrastructure Agency of UTAH (Utopia Fiber) is a community -owned fiber network that covers houses in 21 cities of Utah, including Brigham City, Orem, Payson and Woodland Hills.
Utopia communities were not satisfied with existing Internet options at home. They wanted fast fiber. “If the regular operators are not willing to make the investment, then the community takes it in their hands because they need it for economic development,” says Bolton.
Gigapower is an example of an open access commercial network. The company is a joint business between the AT&T telecommunications giant and the Blackrock investment company. In Albuquerque, AT&T Fiber is inscribed as an anchor tenant, but that still leaves room for other ISP to jump on board and compete to offer fiber Internet to customers.
How open access networks affect Internet costs
When the ISP share the same network, they want to stand out among the crowd. That can be translated into a complex dance of promotions, prices and transmission options or telephone package. Gigapower deployment is still young, so we have not yet seen how this could develop in the long term, but we can look for Utopia clues.
With the Utopia modelConsumers cover two rates. One is the monthly price paid to the ISP and the other is the fiber connection cost for utopia, which generally runs $ 30 monthly. Put the two to get their total. For example, it can be recorded in the 1GBPS Plan of XMISION for $ 54. Adding the Utopia rate has its monthly total to around $ 85.
Bolton says it is quite typical for Gigabit prices in an open access network. “You start seeing that there is a lot of group,” says Bolton. “Suppliers generally try to find other value things that can add to sweeten the treatment.” If you are buying among the ISP in an open access network, look at the promotions, packages, accessories and the reputation of the supplier’s customer service.
Scan the prices of utopia suppliers and you will not see large swings at the 250 Mbps, Gigabit or 2.5GBPS plan levels. But there is an area where the price varies widely. Not all ISP offer 10 Gbps plans, but those that have prices range from $ 110 to $ 200 per month. That will probably not affect many customers. Here we show you how to discover how much Internet speed you really need.
What follows for open access networks?
Utopia and Gigapower are two big names in open access networks, but others exist. Colorado Springs Utilities, for example, is being built with Internet Ting as its initial anchor tenant. Other communities scattered throughout the country, including Ammon, Idaho and Ashland, Oregon, also have open access networks.
On the commercial side, Ubiquity It is expanding with an approach in Arizona, California, Nebraska and Texas. Sifi networks It specializes in open access fiber throughout the city with networks under construction in California, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and New York.
The cities that feel passed through the broad -fiber broadband will continue to consider open access networks. Meanwhile, Gigapower’s rapid expansion could bring more commercial companies to the Redile. “I think it’s a great model and I would not be surprised if other people take advantage of it,” says Bolton.
While Gigabit’s speeds are common in fiber networks, most can offer faster household services. Utopia, for example, climbs 10 Gbps with some ISP. AT&T Fiber generally offers up to 5 Gbps. Open access networks that enter the whole country can be expanded to handle the demands of the future. “This is the final network for at least the next two generations,” says Bolton.
There is hunger for fiber. Albuquerque has been a cable and a DSL city for too long. Gigapower is not the only fiber player in the city. Ezee fiber, vexus fiber and quantum fiber are filing parts of the city with traditional networks, but Gigapower is in heat.
I will notice gigapower when it appears in my street to install the bright orange tubes to execute fiber. After that, I probably didn’t think about it much. I will deal with AT&T Fiber as my ISP, and, maybe one day, I will compare AT&T with a competitor who uses the same network.
Ultimately, the most important thing for me as a client is not how the fiber gets here, only that it comes here. If that means that the ISP compete in prices and group the line, then much better.
Frequent questions of open accessories frequent questions
What is an open access network?
An open access network is installed and operated by a company that leases access to ISPs. That means that multiple suppliers can offer plans to customers who use the same fiber network.
What are the benefits of an open access network?
An open access network is a way in which a community that is overlooked for fiber can access fast symmetrical broadband services. If private companies are not willing to invest, cities can use a municipal model. On the commercial side, open access networks eliminate the installation and operation load of the ISP, which can then take advantage of the network to reach customers. In addition, customers can benefit from competition between ISPs that seek to differentiate themselves through prices, customer service, advantages or packages.
Can open access networks help make Internet access more affordable?
Competition between ISP in an open access network can benefit consumers, but do not expect reduced rate price wars. There may be slight prices contrasts, but more significant differences in free telephone and videos or accessories packages such as transmission services. In addition, seek promotional offers, as one or two months of free service for new customers.
