The bigger concern is whether such networks will ever see the light of day *in the USA*. Other countries like Korean, Singapore, various European, sure they will get it because they place the value of the utility above the value of lining the pockets of a small group of outdated and backward telecom giants. There is only a 50-50 chance the US will ever benefit from this.

The fact that so much dark fiber goes unused already is evidence and example of what resistance such technology will face. You can already see the gears turning in the telecom world: “Fedex charges $30 for a package so we should charge the equivalent or more (because it’s faster)…” which of course is how the we the Bell telephone system that made it illegal to own your own phone or connect non-Bell equipment like modems to the network.

In contrast, it was the unlimited, nearly unmetered bandwidth economic model that created the Internet and enabled it to do *all* the things it does, which is in direct opposition to the Bell model and precisely why AT&T, et al, are fighting net neutrality and trying to wall off the net so that is looks like your cell phone’s internet rather than your ISP’s.