Clearly this is all aimed at virtual worlds . . . And mass suspension of disbelief, which requires more power and infrastructure than anyone can afford. This means that when the switch that handles the phone calls in Anytown, USA, is upgraded, it will automatically be able to handle both voice and high-speed data. It also means that the computing power you need to warp reality is not limited to what you have onsite. It can be anywhere.
Nobody cares where the power is coming from.
They are slow, but they are getting faster. Replacing electronics with photonics is easier and far, far cheaper than redoing the fiber. This is very good news and a reason for optimism. That's for sure. The pieces were all there, it was just that no one had put them together.