ISP SUMMIT: Facilities-based vs. open access; urban vs rural

By Linda Stuart

TORONTO — It may come down to whether they operate in an urban or rural environment, but not all service providers and funders of broadband fibre networks agree that the benefits of owning one’s own facilities necessarily outweigh the costs and challenges of building and maintaining the last mile of fibre to the customer.That much was obvious from the discussion that arose during a special panel about alternate last-mile service delivery strategies at the 2017 Canadian ISP Summit, held this week in downtown Toronto. In a two-to-one split in opinion, executives from urban fibre network providers Beanfield Metroconnect of Toronto...