Fiber in the air

The Platinum Club mega-uber value reader in Oslo who reported some time back that he had been paid a visit by a salesman for Viken Fibernett, writes in to say that he has had another sales call, just to let him know what he'll be missing if he doesn't sign up. Apparently, he asked how long it would be before service launch, and the reply was, "Not long," because as it turns out Viken has opted for overbuilding, i.e., wrapping fiber around the existing overhead phone lines (a common practice with the Japanese fiber players). Media coverage last week claimed that Viken has already achieved a 50% take rate from households in their target area in Oslo, and the investment per household comes out at NOK15 - 25,000 ($2200 - 3700). This seems steep, as does the pricing for consumers, but nevertheless I'm intrigued to see how this plays out.