Technology Futures

Qwest says to forget about fiber

Submitted by acohill on Mon, 03/03/2008 - 08:33.

An interview with the new head of Qwest, Edward Mueller, has some surprising (or not so surprising) comments from the CEO. When asked about fiber to the neighborhood and fiber to the home, Mueller responded, "It's too expensive. We don't see the return."

So if you live in Qwest territory, you now have a definitive statement from the head of the company, who has admitted they lack the imagination to do what is being done routinely in other places in the United States and all over the world. It's a little irritating to hear about the widespread availability of 100 megabit fiber in places like Paris while the major telecoms in the U.S. can't figure out how to get the job done.

Fiber is NOT "too expensive." Instead, the problem is that Qwest's old-fashioned business model for telecom services has not kept up, and they are unwilling to change it.