Thomas Kunz
Systems and Computer Engineering
14
Broadband Access:
Wiring the Last Mile?
nThe Last Mile: Connection between a home and local hub
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nScale & legacy make last mile expensive
•~ 135 million housing units in the US (U.S. Census Bureau 2001)
•POTS (legacy) network designed for voice & built over 60 years
•Cable TV networks built over last 25 years
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n    The Truck Roll Problem: Touching each home incurs cost: customer equipment; installation & servicing; and central office equipment improvements
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 In our (i.e., Microsoft Research’s) estimate building an alternate, physical last mile replacement to hit 80% of US homes will take 19 years and cost ~ US $60-150 billion
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