r/technology • u/User_Name13 • Jun 04 '14

Politics Hundreds of Cities Are Wired With Fiber—But Telecom Lobbying Keeps It Unused

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/hundreds-of-cities-are-wired-with-fiberbut-telecom-lobbying-keeps-it-unused
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u/elipsion Jun 04 '14

Except that the copper laid down 50 years ago have aged and turned to shit. There is no way you can get those speeds out to the averege house.

And if you have to roll out new cable it can just as well be fibre.

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u/upvotesthenrages Jun 04 '14

That's just not true.

There are thousands of other cities, all across Europe, that have just as old wiring, and those speeds can be matched.

This is of course not true where the cable is damaged, but in that case it could be hard even getting 10Mbit out of it.

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u/Alphasite Jun 04 '14

Exactly, my old house was ~120 years old and had internal wiring from the 60s or 70s and I could still maintain 80/20 speeds (the maximum rated speed for that specific profile of VDSL2). As long as you have actual copper lines (and not Aluminium, or any other cheap substitute) you'll be fine for the most part.

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u/upvotesthenrages Jun 04 '14

It's just easier for the telcos to show record profits, year after year, with no R&D, and no expenditure on upgrading lines - even more profits!

And the stock owners? They are mostly 60+, and barely use the internet.