Much has been already written about the FCC decision on fiber and the impact it will have on the consumer broadband choices. Since I am in Boston for the Fall VON Show, here is a take on the subject by Hiawatha Bray from the Boston Globe.

But I also enjoyed Om Malik's opinions on the topic and its implications.  In one entry, Om states his disbelief that alternative technologies such as BPL or WiMAX can provide the competition necessary to make the duopolistic equilibrium price (i.e. the current set price of MSOs and RBOCs) lower - au contraire, the consumer bills will sky rocket.  In another story, Om focuses about how RBOCs like SBC will proceed with their plans: FTTH (FTTP) in some situations such as greenfields, and mostly, FTTC with ADSL 2+ or VDSL. 

I will zero in on the technical considerations of going with a FTTC with ADSL2+/VDSL solution. As the figure below shows, there is a tradeoff between the loop range and the throughputs (upstream/downstream): the longer the range, the lower the data speeds.  Distance matters for digital service lines, because they represent a "dedicated line configuration".

The implications can be arrived at from loop length analysis (data is available from several sources including DSL Prime, Telcordia, the NCTA, etc.).  Verizon, for instance, has about 50% of its loops in the 11,000 feet and longer range.  SBC has roughly over 50% of its loops in the 11k feet and higher range.  Bell South has about 45 percent in the 11k feet and more and the same is true for Qwest.  So what can be done with that?  One option is another location, sometimes co-located with the DLC.  This is in the Service Area Interface (SAI) or a cross-connect cabinet.  Hence, the rollouts that are being talked about the RBOCs are either FTTH (in a few cases only, for new greenfields, particularly after the FCC ruling) or bringing fiber to the above "neighborhood nodes" instead of to the curb.  Also, FTTC with ADSL 2+/VDSL will be used for the shorter distance loop lengths.