Perspective

What's been missing - until now - are regional exchanges to provide access to networks.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that energy companies have installed the vast majority of the some 75 million miles of optical fiber in the ground today, or that those same companies are lighting dark fiber and developing optical networks to boost return on their investment. For utilities, such investment fits perfectly with their two most valuable assets - rights of way and long-time experience in distribution services. The goal is simple: to buy and sell bandwidth just like gas and electricity.

Already, brokers are working with companies that own the transport fiber to create the standards and protocols that will make it possible to deliver bandwidth on-demand. With that in place, the focus will shift to building the actual infrastructure for physical distribution.