Fiber

I admit that I expected not to be completely taken with this book before I even began it. I am seeking some information on the history and manufacture of fibre-optic cables, and this was the only book available through my local library. The sub-title told me that it is a very US-centred book, and this proved to be the case. So while this is not for me, it might be the perfect book for someone interested in that case.

The style is journalistic and moves at an OK pace, although some of the anecdotal cases used are not really very interesting. The first two chapters tell of a journey to South Korea and then to New York to see a fibre-connected rural place in the former, and the manufacturing process in the latter. Beyond this, Crawford pushes a policy perspective, insisting from a US standpoint that fibre-optic is as important to rural places as telephone or electricity were in the 20th Century. This comes from a techno-utopic perspective, and while I agree that a fibre roll-out does benefit rural places (I live in such a place, and it is a massive advantage for work), there is a distinct lack of critique about who and what this 'progress' advantages. Big claims such as that inequality can't be fixed without fibre-optic internet may at least do state that technology is not the only factor. Yet such claims are from a perspective that never seems to consider any negative to such connectivity. Perhaps the negatives are not there, but I prefer to see some critique in a text like this.