First Mile

It’s called the “last mile”. It's the space that separates the places where we live or work from the closest telco's wiring closet.

Change your perspective: for the end-users (individuals or entities), it's not the last but the first mile, which represents the access to the Network.

Many different technologies are today available to create an ubiquitous access to the Network (xDSL, FTTH, etc): the wireless technology has a really fast deployment time.

It is common to identify the last mile as a telcos' property; in many industrialised countries the majority of the last miles (the network access) are owned by municipalities, utilities and other entities (i.e. cable TVs).

A hot-spot is the most common and clearly visible example of the first mile. When the network grows, covering a town and beyond, technical coordination and strategic vision are required to make groups of hot-spots a considerable alternative to the access provided by telcos.