A cystic fibre-optic operation

Our terminally online zeitgeist remains enabled and stimulated thanks to the arduous effort of rolling the glasvezel out under the streets. In a digital world, we must stay ahead and remain competitive, and our ever-magnanimous telecommunications companies have dutifully stepped in to serve our cities and countryside with refractive strands of glass hair. While the fibre-optic vision conjures images of high-contrast neon sparkles, motion blur, urban modernisation, and families with grins as wide as the promised bandwidth, the lived reality of attaining it resembles more of a mucus-laden hobble, struggling to flush the sludge of paperwork and proper conduct out of its system.

In the Dutch spirit of market competition and keeping expenses off the government ledger, the installation of fibre-optic is headed by a series of major telecom and utility companies with absolutely no corporate consolidation tendencies. Alongside more independent companies like ODF and Delta, which are owned by a range of foreign private equity firms, we have the telecom hegemon of KPN and Glaspoort, the latter being KPN partnering with a pension investment company. Dedicated specialists on the job. Unlike other infrastructure branches (water management, roads, train tracks), which have more public or regional provisions, we instead get companies decreeing their blessings of high-speed internet alongside a cheeky subscription offer, and maybe even a salesperson if they feel generous.

There are actually two somewhat different subprocesses at play. One of them is laying the fibre-optic highways through the streets, and the other is then providing the fibre-optic driveway to your front door. On the street front, we have seen digging as if to find the remains of the Roman Empire and put it back together. Streets are frequently blocked off at multiple points, accompanied by the serenade of jackhammers. Assuming your pavement isn't left damaged after the installation, you might be left with orange cables protruding out of the bricks like unwelcome weeds in the garden. 

Getting those speedy cables into your humble abode is a different challenge. Your installer will usually inform you that they’ve been authorised to go into your house/flat and, out of the goodness of their hearts, generously hook you up to the good stuff free of charge within a given installation period. A free sample to get you hooked on the product, a tactic derived from truly the noblest of trades. Sometimes, even dubious consent doesn’t get in the way of their generosity.

The thing is, this free installation is usually confined to the installation window. Suppose you allowed the installation, but then either something “went wrong”, or the building was difficult, or people were uncooperative, or whatever. You try to call them, send them emails; brick wall. Eventually, a salesperson shows up at your door, befuddled by the lack of fibre-optic service in your house, given that it had been scheduled. In the spirit of not wasting your time, they offer a solution: consider taking out our amazing subscription, and we can have you wired up in no time. With this amazing deal, you’ll be paying more than you currently do. I’ll even show you on my calculator. By the way, if you don’t sign up, then you’ll miss out on your last opportunity to get fibre optic for free. No time pressure.

In competitive sport, you have a referee, as you can expect people to start bending the rules in the heat of competition. Given that the internet could be fairly described as a public good, it strikes me as an odd choice to allow private equity to spearhead investment in what is effectively infrastructure development. There will almost certainly be rent-seeking tendencies, as seen by the two-year contracts and additional TV bundles being pushed onto people. 

This can be especially dangerous if the sales pitch can exploit technological ignorance. Naturally, there’s legislation against exploitative digging and flags raised against malicious practices, but I find it may be difficult to enforce behind closed doors, as private equity is footing the bill. Ok, government, you put fibre optic on your bill if you don’t like our practices so much, and let’s see how that goes for you. Not to worry, though, the healthy market competition of a telecom hegemon and private equity will give the Dutch the best bang for their buck, I’m sure.

On Students' Viewpoint, UU students share their views with the rest of the university community. Hubert, a Master's student of Climate Physics, is one of the columnists invited for this space. You can also read the perspectives of staff members on Staff's Viewpoint and click here to check out the columns by students and staff in Dutch.