operational costs in dollars per unit bandwidth (per unit distance). For metro,
regional, and long-haul arenas, lightwave technology is indisputably the
king. However, in the access arena, the competitive unit cost of lightwave
technology has not favored rational deployment. Indeed, the history of
FTTH has followed a tortuous path; the early trials in the 1980s and 1990s did
not lead to massive depl oyment. Globally, Japanese and Korean telecom com-
panies have been leading the installation of FTTH (with as yet unknown eco-
nomic consequences). In the meantime, the cost of FTTH equipment has been
decreasing steadily. Recently, relief from “unbundling” (exemption from
requirement for incumbent carriers to share facilities with competitive carriers, ...