All New Homes In China Must Have Fiber Optic Internet Connections 202
redletterdave writes "Only a small number of U.S. cities can boast fiber optic connections, but in China, it's either fiber or bust. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has now ordered all newly built residences to install fiber optic connections in any city or county 'where a public fiber optic telecom network is available.' The new standards will take effect starting on April 1, 2013, and residents will be able to choose their own ISP with equal connections to services. The Chinese government reportedly hopes to have 40 million families connected to fiber networks by 2015."
Sounds Too Good to Be True ... (Score:5, Interesting)
However, even China is offering something Google and Verizon aren’t here in the US: Open access, and the choice of multiple service providers once the fiber is installed.
Um, yeah so you can pick from China Telecom and China Unicom [wikipedia.org] which are both -- SURPRISE SURPRISE -- state run and controlled providers. So, yeah, go ahead and select between Super Auspicious Provider A and Premium Auspicious Provider B and think you have a choice just like Cox and Comcast are two sides of the same inept coin.
According to the China Daily report, the Chinese government hopes to have “40 million families connected to fiber networks by 2015,” which is almost one-third of the country’s entire population.
Emphasis mine. Anyone see a believable plan on how that's going to happen? I mean, I bet every government hopes to have a third of its nations homes on fiber networks by 2015 ... that sounds like a rather expensive project that you're not going to see a return on until the state owned providers pay it back though. You've got a state owned and state controlled newspaper telling you about something unbelievably awesome enforcing some totally unrealistic (unless there are few fiber neighborhoods) regulation. Am I the only one saying that I will applaud them when it's actually in place and working?
2015 is two years away. Um, yeah, they had better get crackin'. Well, I guess when you can just force the poorer farming people to work for free [unpo.org] it might be possible! That little project was called “Speed up the Roads and Enrich the People” hahaha. Here's your shovel, comrade. Now start digging until you're enriched.
The skeptic in me is just thinking that the home builders in China just need to pay off one more inspector to get a structure standing. Hell, their sheet rock and cement are clearly bribed through quality control -- why not structural, electrical and fiber officials?
Re:Sounds Too Good to Be True ... (Score:1, Interesting)
I think this might work. Mandating a modern connection is a smart thing to do. And its basically no different than mandating that new houses be connected to other public utilities like water, electric, or sewer. And its smart because it loads the capital expense of the network connection into the build cost of the house versus inefficiently pulling cable whenever someone new wants service.
Sadly our corrupt politicians in the US choose to legislate anti-competitive measures; such as outlawing municipal broadband projects. (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/06/south-carolina-passes-bill-against-municipal-broadband/)
Re:Sounds Too Good to Be True ... (Score:5, Interesting)
China Telecom and China Unicom which are both ... two sides of the same inept coin.
Except the are not inept. Internet service in China is far cheaper, faster, more reliable, and more pervasive than what you find in the USA. Since these are SOEs, they are not entirely profit driven, but also consider wider societal goals, such as the economic and business benefits of a well connected population. There are certainly downsides to authoritarian socialism, but building out public infrastructure isn't one of them.
Small number? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Sounds Too Good to Be True ... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Sounds Too Good to Be True ... (Score:4, Interesting)