Future of NYC Fiber: Capacity Will Win The Race

Fiber optic technology in New York City was a hot topic at the 2016 Telecom Exchange conference, organized by Jaymie Scotto and Associates at Cipriani Wall Street. The conference, held June 21-22, included a CEO round table discussion titled “Fiber in the City: Analyzing the Need for New Metro Dark Fiber Builds in and Around NYC”.

Ray LaChance, Co-founder and CEO of ZenFi Networks, said during the panel that although New York is covered with fiber, most of it is inaccessible. “We are dealing with cost and congestion,” La Chance said on behalf of fiber providers who do business in the city. He also said that the fiber business has only grown more complex in the past decade. The duct capacity in buildings has decreased immensely, and franchise fees have skyrocketed

Vincenzo Clemente, CEO of Cross River Fiber, agreed, stating that “Capacity will win the race. You have to have capacity and you have to have accessibility.”

. Clareon Fiber Networks CEO Cliff Kane hypothesized that these complications could be lessened if networks were willing to work together. Kane said that customers from each network are different, and resources that one company may ignore could be vital to another network. Technology is enabling sharing more so than ever, he explained. When asked if there was an endpoint in sight for this industry, Clemente said that there would always be work to be done, if not in New York then throughout the rest of the country. He told the group of attendees and panelists that he is up for the challenge.“We (Fiber providers) are a part of this solution. I’d like to be a part of the solution.” He said.