This much neon lighting from another era would have required 5,000 watts of power. In fibre-optics, only 750 watts are required. Copper cable rusts. Even aluminum cable oxidizes. Fibre-optic cable does not rust, corrode, or oxidize, and maintenance is minimal.
Initial cost is about six to eight times higher, so use is limited to big business.
But it will not be long before economies of scale and diminishing production costs bring fibre-optics into the average household. In Japan, himiwari are appearing on some roofs. The device looks like a large satellite dish inside a plastic enclosure which contains fresnel lenses that collect and intensify the sun's rays. The rays are then piped down into buildings. The infrared beams are extracted and used to heat the building.