Broadband Access:
Wiring the Last Mile?
The Last Mile: Connection between a home and local hub
Scale & 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
    The Truck Roll Problem: Touching each home incurs cost: customer
equipment; installation & servicing; and central office equipment
improvements
  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