By Matylda Czarnecka

Broadband connectivity has long been a topic of discussion among New York residents, from complaints about internet provider monopolies to fiber-envy. A panel discussion on How Better Broadband Could Revolutionize New York explored the promise and examined the shortfalls of ubiquitous high speed connections.

Panelists:

Arie Barendrecht, Executive Director, Wired NYC
Christopher Levendos, Vice Chairman, National Operations, Verizon
Shrihari Pandit, President and CEO, Stealth Communications
Maya Wiley, Counsel to the Mayor, City of New York

Moderator:

Matthew Flamm, Senior Reporter, Crain’s New York Business

One of the de Blasio administration’s focuses is making speedy Internet accessible to all, to help the tech sector grow and to enable those without reliable Internet access to cross the “digital divide,” but progress has been slow. New York’s infrastructure is outdated, and there’s a lot of demand for it: If the city were a state, it would be the 13th largest, by population.

“It’s no small challenge,” said Wiley, “we’re playing catch-up at a size of and scale that is unprecedented.”

The City controls franchise agreements with multiple broadband providers, but there’s generally no overlap among the areas they cover. Verizon’s expansion will produce much-needed competition in the local market.

“Time Warner Cable doesn’t have the best reputation. Verizon is now heading
into the footprint in the city where Time Warner Cable was only provider,
which means TWC needs to step it up,” Wiley said.

Verizon has begun using microtrenching technology to expedite expansion without needing to dig up every street. Shallow one-inch cuts in sidewalks are enough for fiber to be placed at a much faster rate than before.

This video shows how it works:

These “digital sidewalks” have the capacity for other providers to place their fiber in the space at the same time, allowing competitors to cooperate.

But laying down fiber is only one challenge on the path to universal high-speed Internet. Arie Barendrecht, Executive Director of Wired NYC, said he often sees frustrated landlords who would like fiber in their buildings but are unable to find a provider who is willing to bring it to them. He emphasized the need for market-driven solutions to create transparency about what kind of connectivity each building has. This will allow tenants choose the most connected buildings and drive action for landlords to step up.

Likewise, Shrihari Pandit of Stealth Communications, which provides ultra-fast internet and dark fiber Services for businesses, said half of the landlords he works with are excited for fiber, but the others impose restrictive agreements.

Levendos pointed out another problem beyond landlords and infrastructure. “The largest logistical challenge I’d like to see improve is the exchange of paperwork. Sometimes [the paperwork] takes longer than it does to wire the building.”

Wiley said the de Blasio administration plans to announce a broadband task force in the coming months, but in the meantime, don’t expect much change. Fiber may be speedy, but its distribution is still stuck at dial-up speeds.