I was sitting in coffee shop the other day that you may have heard of. They started in Seattle and they have a green round logo. That’s all I can say because I don’t want to give it away. I was waiting for my car to be repaired, and wanted to follow up on a couple of emails and do some work. I really didn’t want a four dollar cup of coffee but I wanted to use their internet to send some large attachments.

Companies are using free internet to lure customers into their stores. Restaurants, hotels and other businesses are advertising this service because it is a key differentiator between them and their competition. As bandwidth needs increase, fiber will be a requirement for these businesses to stay ahead of the competition. I envision that in a couple of years these same companies will be advertising their connection speed as a way to leap frog the competition. If I have a choice between a gigabit fiber-fed coffee shop and a mom and pop operation with slower connection speed, the decision will be very simple.

So what does this mean going forward? It means that communications providers will need to push fiber further out into their networks to service these business class customers. Due to the expensive construction costs associated with conventional fiber deployments, it take an extensive amount of time for these projects to become cash flow positive. That is why many of our customers are looking to microduct and pushable fiber to help reduce the labor and construction costs of their installations. The ability to deploy microduct in a micro-trench, congested/occupied duct and aerial environments is a key feature of microduct for urban applications. Due to its small footprint, the microduct can be installed into buildings with minimal disruption and damage to the structure. Microducts are available in virtually every configuration including OSP direct bury, aerial and indoor versions which allow the installer to transition from one environment to another without the need for additional splices.

As companies look to differentiate themselves from their competition, increasing bandwidth at their retail locations will be important. Keep your eyes peeled for “Fiber-Fed” signs outside local businesses. I believe you will see them sooner rather than later. And you can bet that many of them will be fed with microduct.

By: Tom Warren