You Never Forget That First Connection
That was me in 1991. Killing it on solitaire. That was one of my first computers with a modem. That sweet sound of a connection being made… my parents yelling that we should get off the phone line… That modem changed my life. It connected me to a whole world of geeks like me.
The Internet was so young we did not even call it Internet. It was all about BBSs: Bulletin Board System. There were tons of them. There were ones focused on gaming, on sports, on gambling, on development, on Brazil. Whatever topic you could think of, there was a BBS. Jumping from one to another was easy: dial another one. To build your own BBS, it was a 2-step process: install software, set your modem to answer.
The modem + phone line was democratizing force. It drove a Cambrian explosion of BBSs (later known as ISPs, Internet Service Providers). Customers could vote with their money. Do you not like a provider? Dial up to another one? Providers, in turn, could set up shop in a blink of an eye. Competition boomed. Innovation was the order of the day. Customers were well served.
But we got lost in the explosion.
By the time the dust settled on this Cambrian explosion, only gigantic dinosaurs survived.
The end result was an oligopoly. Few players control the market. Customers can beg and plead, but cannot vote with their money. Oligopolies see customers as a burden. Oligopolies do not need to keep up with customer demand. They do not need to innovate. Oligopolies optimize for something else.
It is crazy to think that back then — Brazil in the 1990’s — there were more choices for me to connect than in modern day Belgium.
Our Growing Appetite for Bandwidth
This market structure would not be an issue in a dying market. However the Internet is booming.
More people are connecting and each has more devices.
These devices are ever more powerful and higher resolution.
And the apps running on them are bandwidth hungry apps.
Think I am exaggerating? Alright, give this a spin:
- Put your mobile on 2G.
- Set your browser to 256k.
Time how long it takes for you to engage berserker mode. I cannot be help responsible for any crimes you commit in that period.
Open Access Network
This hole in which we dug ourselves has a way out: Open Access Network. Disconnect the infrastructure from the services layer. There are 4 key benefits:
1. Competition
Easy & Simple to Switch Providers
Open access networks display all competing offers in an easy to compare list. When you decide to switch, the switch is done in seconds. No staying home to wait for technician, no paperwork, no visit to a shop.
Low Barrier to Entry for New ISPs
It is super simple and quick for any internet service provider to join. The ISP does not have to invest in civil works infrastructure and expensive projects. Open access networks do the heavy lifting. The ISPs are then free to focus on what they do best: serve customers.
2. Better Products
Do you want the fastest internet? Best customer service? Insane amounts of traffic? Budget conscious? Child friendly? Are you a gamer and want the lowest latency possible? Or do you want anonymity? There is an app — err… an ISP for that.
Open access networks make it incredibly easy for any qualified company to become an ISP. Which means that there are always new ideas and constant innovation in products.
3. Better Prices
A fluid marketplace spurs competition. Competition improves prices.
For example, in an open access market like Sweden, a consumer can get 250 Mbps connection for €40 per month. In Belgium, you would have to pay upwards of €1000 per month!
4. Less Disturbances
The model is to build once, connect multiple times. Open access networks use modern technology: SDN. Software Defined Networks means that any changes to the network occur in software and in a highly-automated manner. There is no field technician going out in cold, rainy days to dig open a sidewalk. Everything happens in software, fully automated.
The First Connection You Never Forget
My brother and I spent years studying the telecom sector. Going to events. We even met Mr. Broadband Jesus himself.
Now we put our money were our mouths are. He prods along in Brazil with Reabra; I make my way in Belgium with SmartFiber.io.
Reabra has already connected a couple of condominiums and the virus is spreading.
Here in Belgium, we connected our first building this week.
It will still take a couple of weeks before we finish the internal cabling. A few more days before the customers are active. When done, I will send the invite, and beers shall be drunk.
That first connection you never forget.
This post first appeared on LinkedIn.
