If we could put bundles of single mode fiber everywhere, and only worry about the ends of the fibers, that would greatly help.

Because we can’t get a do-over ever 2 years, we should design the system with at least 2 pair to every home, business, apartment, etc.

The base system requirement should be 1 Gbps full duplex per pair.

We have to assume that the ends can take care of their own filtering, etc… and NOT try to bake it into the infrastructure.

It’s really a communications system, and unlike other communications systems it’s made of diverse elements: fat things like Ethernets, SONETs, ATMs, and odd things like FiOSes, DOCSISes, DSLs, WiMaxes, and Wi-Fis. It doesn’t seem like these things could all be part of a unified system, but they are. And unlike other communications systems that go to great lengths to ensure they provide predictable and invariant service, the Internet has a wierd attitude toward overuse and overload: it says “bring it on, I can handle myself no matter what you do to me.”

This is what makes the economics of Internetting so brilliant. If we’re willing to give up a little predictability, we can generally have great service for very little money. As more uses migrate off the old-style networks to the Internet, their communication needs come with them, so Internets of the future will be able to meet a wider range of needs without sacrificing economy.

This infrastructure continuously improves itself, which is very cool, and very different from other infrastructures that really can’t because they’re stuck doing one thing in the same old way by law and regulation.

That’s the deal with Internet infrastructure. It’s not magic, not free, and not above the laws of physics, but it’s very flexible, very fast, very cheap, and getting more so. It’s not magic, but it’s very, very clever.