Dark fibre

Communications - Towards a new age of enlightenment, through the dark side of networks?

From the archive: In 1992, George Gilder foresaw a future beyond the telcos, a new communications landscape ecology based upon dark fibre; a future that the telcos have worked hard to foreclose:


THE COMING OF THE FIBERSPHERE | GEORGE GILDER

• "Dark fiber" is simply a glass fiber optic thread with nothing attached to it, (ie. no light being sent through it). In this "unlit" condition, it is available for use without the intermediation of phone company electronics or intelligent services.
  

• The future of the information age depends on the rise of dumb and dark networks to accommodate the onrush of ever smarter electronics. Ultimately at stake is nothing less than the future of the computer and communications infrastructure of the U.S. economy, its competitiveness in world markets, and the consummation of the age of information. Although the phone companies do not want to believe it, their future will be dark.