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The actual speeds the customer experiences will vary depending on a variety of factors, such as how the network is structured, the hardware attached to the fiber -optics, and how the service provider configures the service. The same fiber that provides broadband internet can also simultaneously deliver voice (VoIP) and video services, including video on demand. Fiber operates synchronously, meaning the service is just as fast to download as to upload, which is increasingly important for households and businesses. Dark fiber is a fiber-optic strand with no hardware attached to generate laser light signals across the fibers. From the business perspective, dark fibers are facilities—real estate— that are leased to customers. As with any real estate, the value of dark fiber depends on location, location, location: its end points and route. Dark fiber customers are large enterprises, including ISPs, that need to interconnect local area networks or "last mile" access network infrastructure. The fiber must be "lit" to carry data between network nodes and provide network services. That equipment must be powered and connected to other network infrastructure and must be housed in a building or cabinet. And, of course, all this infrastructure must be secured and maintained. Dark fiber lessors and lessees need to be thorough, clear, and in agreement about who is responsible for each portion of the infrastructure. • Fiber to the Node (FTTN) brings high-capacity fiber-optic cables to communities and then connects to existing DSL and coaxial equipment. This is not an "all fiber" approach. Rather than bringing fiber-optic cables to every home or business, the fiber is connected to the existing copper network to increase its capacity. The copper -based "last mile" network that connects homes and businesses to the local nodes is still a bottleneck and results in subscribers not accessing the true speeds of fiber-optic connections. • Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) provides internet access by running fiber-optic cable directly from an ISP to a customer's home or business. This approach is "all fiber" all the way to the customer. Fiber facilitates much faster speeds than copper wire, generally needs to be serviced less, and is "future proof' because technology can increase the bandwidth of fiber-optic cables. AE and GPON are both FTTP technologies. Figure 10 illustrates the relative difference between common internet connection methods, comparing access technologies from basic dial-up service through DSL, cable, and fiber. Whereas traditional broadband technologies have an upper limit of 300 Mbps, next -generation broadband that utilizes fiber-optic connections surpasses these limitations and can provide data throughputs of 1 Gbps and greater. 22 1 P City of San Leandro, CA Fiber Master Plan