SONET was replaced with DWDM a decade ago. With 100GHz ITU Grid C, you would get 40 channels of up to 10Gbps each. More recently, most long haul providers have been upgrading to coherent using 50GHz spacing with 80 channels of 200Gbps, further broken down into 10Gb and 40Gb TDM or PDM circuits. Long haul density is not the issue.
For a real life example, on a recent quote we received, fiber down the west coast from 2001 6th Ave in Seattle to 624 S Grand Ave in Los Angeles was only 1/3rd the cost of going from 624 S Grand Ave out to Malibu.
The issue is not with long haul density, but with last mile due to restrictive municipal regulations and procedures, and lack of collaboration between different metro networks.
For a real life example, on a recent quote we received, fiber down the west coast from 2001 6th Ave in Seattle to 624 S Grand Ave in Los Angeles was only 1/3rd the cost of going from 624 S Grand Ave out to Malibu.
The issue is not with long haul density, but with last mile due to restrictive municipal regulations and procedures, and lack of collaboration between different metro networks.