TecHnoLoGy - Broadband Properties

a call from someone saying the cablelockbox was invaded by a third party.The answer may be to put a third boxbetween the two.Sharing InfrastructureKane: I don’t think the FCC ever envisionedthat the two providers would haveto share one coax. When they came outwith these rules they were thinking onlyabout having choice at the property leveland they weren’t thinking about the factthat there’s only one piece of coax goingto one particular unit and it’s notfeasible to have one provider providingvideo and another provider providingInternet access or phone over that samepiece of coax. This has brought all kindsof confusion.It is difficult to advise your staff onwhat they can and should be doing in thatkind of scenario. I may be long retired beforewe get an answer on that one. I thinkeveryone here has experienced, because ofthe confusion, people looking at the rulesone way and others another way. Well,because of the Sheet Rock Rule, shouldI cut open an incumbent provider’s boxand help myself to the coax? In fact, that’snot what the rules say.Davis: We’re in a transitional periodright now, I agree, and none of us reallyknows exactly how this will work out.If I were an owner, I’d have two mainconcerns. One, just the general uglinessof the property it creates when you’vegot wall boxes broken into or additionalboxes on the building and just moreclutter, and the other is just the abilityto use the wiring and having residentsupset because they thought they couldget two different services from two differentproviders.The industry – not the owners in myview – has to work out a solution to thisin a way the owner doesn’t have to getinvolved so we’re serving the same customerat the end of the day.Kandutsch: I think it’s importantto make a distinction between existingproperties and new construction. If youdo want an open property with two ormore providers, plan your infrastructureso that you’re not trying to jugglethem using one set of wiring. Thinkabout what you want for your propertyand build accordingly. Look at yourcontracts. Look at wiring that’s available.Look at the headaches that mayensue and the possible solutions if youonly had one set of wiring and tried tohave providers share. Where it becomesfar less manageable is on an existingproperty. Unless you’re contemplatingan overbuild, you’ve got to deal with thewiring that’s already there. You’ve got todeal with contracts that are already inplace. You’ve got to deal with providerswho are already in place.Provider TransitionsGlivar: The FCC rule for use of wiringin provider transitions doesn’t work. Iwould not want to be in the crosshairs ofa wiring dispute between two providers.So I would make sure that any providerscoming in with their proposals told mehow they are going to cover costs of theJuly 2008 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 89