President’s Letter
Our Dallas Summit : Wave Of The Future
By Scott DeGarmo, President & CEO
For Developers, Property Owners, Public Officials

Editor’s Note
Lessons from the Latest FTTH Report
By Steven S. Ross, Editor-in-Chief
Fiber is now the “safe” choice for builders, property owners and government officials thinking about adding broadband to their mix.

Provider Perspective
J. D. Power Knows How to Drive Satisfaction
By Bryan Rader, MediaWorks
Most company executives say they care about customers. But, honestly, if you had the bucks to improve customer satisfaction right now, what would you spend it on?

Programming
The ả la Carte Debate
By Michael A. Kashmer, Broadband Properties Magazine
The norm may soon be ả la Carte, whether the regulators demand it or not. “I just want to buy a dozen or so channels. What’s wrong with that?”

The First Mile
Capsule Summaries of Trend Data for Broadband
This month, because we carry the latest fiber data in our cover story, we look mainly at how the chief competitors to fiber are doing – DSL and cable modems. We find that the number of customers is increasing (at the expense of dialup services), but revenue is falling and will continue to fall.

COVER STORY

Render Report
FTTH Update: Batting Almost a Thousand
By Steven S. Ross, Editor-in-Chief
The latest RVA survey lists 936 operating fiber-to-the-home deployments, passing over 4 million homes. With two new systems being lit every day, seven days a week, the total passed 1,000 while we were on the presses. But there’s more than sheer number of deployments that’s making FTTH the mainstream choice. Here’s the analysis.

The List
Every operating FTTH system in the US catalogued by RVA – 936 communities in 47 states.

Technology
First US Gigabit-to-the-Premise Network
BBP Staff Report
North Kansas City was due at press time to light the first municipal broadband network in Missouri, and the first municipal gigabit network anywhere in the US. Network construction was funded in part by casino profits. But it’s no gamble.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Using Broadband
Teens Bridge Digital and Generational Divide
By Graham Richard, Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne teens are teaching seniors to use computers. It’s all part of Mayor Richard’s iTeam approach for spreading the benefits of broadband FTTH throughout the community. Payoffs abound for the kids as well as their students.

Technology
Cleaning Up the FTTH Neighborhood
By C. Mark Turner, Corning Cable Systems
Smaller fiber street furniture – especially pedestals or cabinets holding splitters and terminations for loops to homes themselves – enhance curb appeal.

FOCUS ON FREE-SPACE OPTICS

Technology
Can You Use an FSO Link?
A BBP Staff Report
FSO is a great quick fix for closing a short link when fiber is hard to justify for a project segment. But had building design and sloppy installation can thwart installations of free-space optical links. Use our detailed guide to make a quick decision about investigating FSO use.

Case Study
California City Uses FSO to Bridge 200-Foot Gap
By Jonathan Amir, MRV Communications
The City of Beaumont needed to link its police station with city hall, but the intervening terrain was paved, and clogged with vital traffic. Also, the link has to last just a few years, because the police department is scheduled for relocation. FSO with an RF backup made it easy.

INDEPENDENT TELCOS

Independent Telcos and FTTH
By Masha Zager, Contributing Editor
Our monthly summary of news of special interest to independent telephone companies. This month: Albany Mutual Telephone Association, ComSpan USA , EATEL, NTELOS, Paxio, Primelink, TDS Telecom, TelCove, Telepak Networks.

SureWest Communications Launches HD-IPTV Service
By Masha Zager, Contributing Editor
This pioneer in IPTV started its high-definition service in January. Contributing editor Zager explains how the company did it, and why company executives felt they had to.

DEPARTMENTS

News

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