If it's a true FTTH network (which means fiber all the way to the end customer's home), Verizon would have to run a fiber all the way into each apartment or condo unit. Which means installing fiber cables
*inside* existing MDU buildings. For several reasons (minimum inconvenience to residents; minimum disruption to structures and landscaping; lowest cost to Verizon), Verizon would (presumably) want to wire all units at the same time, even if only one unit signed up for the service.It's the same hassle that the cable TV industry went through back in the 1970s and 80s when we were installing coax in MDU buildings. Back in my cable TV days, we dragged our feet about MDUs too. We didn?t want to invest in wiring an entire building until we had enough residents signed up to justify the cost. On a few occasions, building owners agreed to assist: either they'd pick up part of the construction cost, or they'd contract for bulk billing (basic cable to every unit with the cost buried in the rent). But most building owners refused to contribute anything, and many of them were outright hostile. Some even demanded a "deal" (i.e., money) as a condition for signing an easement.
Another reason for dragging our feet: hackers. It's a lot easier to hack wiring inside an MDU building than wiring on a pole or in a ped. The worst offenders were fraternities: I've encountered frat boys hacking coax wiring within an hour after the installer left.
Verizon is facing this whole hassle all over again. Only it's worse this time around because fiber can't be spliced, so each fiber cable would have to be run continuously from the building entrance to the apartment/condo without any splices. Furthermore, fiber is just as vulnerable to physical hacking by residents as coax, but it's far more difficult to repair -- again, the splicing problem.
Alternatively, Verizon could run a fiber bundle to some secure common area (basement, telephone closet, etc.) in the building, and utilize existing coax and telco wiring from there. Assuming, of course, that the existing coax and telco wiring is in usable condition, with no bad splices, no hidden splitters buried behind drywall or under the attic insulation, no smashed shields, no ground faults, no illegal taps, etc. Anybody who's read the horror stories posted on this list over the past several years might question the advisability that approach.
Eventually, of course, all this will pass. Coax wiring is now as common in MDU buildings as power and telephone. In another decade or two, fiber will be just as common.
So just be patient, Lisa!
Neal McLain