by
dane » Tue Nov 01, 2011 8:58 pm
My personal feeling is that it would be very difficult to make a business case for rural fiber. Some are doing it in other states, but it's a tough economic model.
Fiber construction is basically down to dollars per linear foot. While that cost of construction can be 2x to 10x in a metro than in a rural region, the length of property frontages varies far more between the two, making the rural case very difficult.
Example: in moderate density Sebastopol, you might have 40 foot frontages per single-family dwelling, and construction costs of $10/lft, or $400 per home passed (opportunity cost.) in a rural area with multiple-acre parcels, perhaps construction cost might be $5/lft, but if frontages are 250ft, that's $1250 per home passed. In this example, the metro would be a more feasible place to build first.
-Dane
