[kwlug-disc] UBB CRTC decision to be reviewed ...

[Ralph Janke]

  On 02/02/2011 11:09 AM, John Van Ostrand wrote:
> 2. Even if 100Mb is delivered to the home, think about the aggregate bandwidth. Ports and switches for that kind of throughput is very expensive. 100Mbit copper has a limited distances (100m IIRC) which means lots of switches and lots of back-haul fibre to those switches.
Nobody would run long distance on copper. Even "metro-networks" have 
been since the 90s during the "Internet Bubble" build using fibre. Fibre 
has no such limitations. More than 10 years ago it was very easy to run 
100 wavelength of OC-192 signals for 100km without any amplification or 
worse digital re-assembly of the signal.

One of the reasons that Bell is trying to make high usage of the 
Internet very expensive is because of their own technology disadvantage. 
Bell is operating DSL technology on twisted pair copper. This was always 
only a gap technology for the Bells to not lose the market immediately 
against the coax technology based Cable-TV companies. However, Bell 
Canada is apparently not put enough investment into their aging last 
mile network. Hence making anything that is over the capacity of DSL too 
expensive saves their market without making the necessary investments.

Instead investing into their network and offering their customers a good 
quality network for the high prices they charge, the rather invest in 
"content" by buying CTV, again creating another conflict of interest, 
which encourages them to try to assume in anti-competitive ways an edge 
from other content providers.

The real issue is the vertical conglomeration of the cooperation that is 
creating artificial scarcities by anti-competitive means. Furthermore, 
if we would work in a fair system, Bell should be asked to pay all of us 
back for the free right of ways the have been granted through 
regulation, and hence a monopolistic marketplace in their favour. A 
corporation cannot ask for both, market protection *and* protection of 
profits by their own will and demands.

- Ralph