Should ISPs Consider Open-Access?

There are suddenly a lot of open-access networks springing up around the country. Traditionally, open-access networks have been built by local governments such as the public utility districts (PUDs) in Washington. Today, there are also open-access networks being built by commercial network owners. I’ve been asked by several internet service providers (ISPs) if they should consider operating on an open-access network. Here are a few of the most important factors to consider about operating on an open-access network:

• Capital Expenditures: One of the primary reasons to think about using somebody else’s network is the savings from not having to fund and built a new network.  For small ISPs without a lot of borrowing capacity, an open-access network might be one of the easiest ways to get more customers.
• Economy-of-scale: Another reason to consider operating on somebody else’s network is that anything that makes your ISP larger adds to economy-of-scale. There is a big benefit to spreading the costs of overheads like OSS/BSS systems and corporate staff costs over as many customers as possible.
• Trust: One of the scary parts of being on an open-access network is being captive to the processes and prices charged by the network owner. 
• No Technology Advantage: It’s an odd situation for an ISP to be operating on a fiber network and yet have no technology advantages over many of your competitors.