The Future of Broadband

After spending some time going over my predictions about the future of broadband, I've come to a few conclusions:

• We should start soon to develop a strategy to bolster middle-mile fiber routes. We’ll be facing a crisis in 15-20 years where most middle-mile fiber will have to be replaced to accommodate faster lasers.
• Commercial companies are building some new middle-mile fiber, but not at a pace that’s needed.
• Regulators and policymakers should consider future demand before giving out money to build broadband infrastructure. That failure to consider future broadband needs has repeatedly resulted in the Federal Communications Commission and states providing grant funding for broadband infrastructure that can’t meet predictable future demand. Any broadband infrastructure funded by grants should have the capacity to handle the expected demand during its expected useful life.
• The expected future growth in demand means that every existing broadband network will have to be upgraded at some point in the next 25 years.
• We need to invest in strategies that relieve broadband traffic from having to go to and from the major Internet POPs. That might include strategies to increase the use of edge-computing, caching more data locally, and creating many more peering points closer to local providers.