Why You Should Live in Ammon, Idaho

[Commentary] Why should you live in Ammon, Idaho? Because it has a dark fiber network -- thin, flexible strands of glass that are capable of carrying an unlimited amount of information in the form of pulses of light, but haven't yet been "lit" by the electronics that trigger lasers to create those pulses and transmit them through the glass. Once installed, upgrades to dark fiber come in the form of the electronics that create and receive those pulses of light; the strands of glass themselves won’t have to be replaced for many decades. Dark fiber is like a street grid: Towns and cities with unlit fiber networks in place are creating a fertile field for private competition, innovation, economic growth, and social justice without providing end-user services themselves. Once in place, dark fiber is like an inexhaustible natural resource, enriching both citizenry and commerce.

[Susan Crawford is the author of "The Responsive City"]