Battle of the Bandwidth

[tdti1]

hahaha ya right... if Echostar even made anything decent I would be shocked.

[nicohockey9]

It's kind of true though. They have the technology available to them. It's just they choose to hold it off right now, also they wasted so much money on IPTV don't forget, who know's what's going on with that

[technut]

I wish there were a FiOS alternative, either locally or preferrably on a national basis. I'd like to have the option of getting full bandwidth services (eg. 19.4 Mbps HD, unthrottled Internet, etc) instead of the choked low-quality variety offered by most of the other providers.

I'm not sure what it would take to make it viable, but I'd pay a $500-$1000 install charge to get fiber to my house if the monthly service charges were similar to the competition.

[nicohockey9]

My guess, at least for quebec. Is that videotron will offer a seperate fiber to the home package eventually, they already have a interntet package in Laval 50 Mbps internet.

[alexetel]

If you've ever had to suffer through the bush league user interface (UI) of the Scientific Atlanta Explorer and you compare it to the deluxe BEV HD PVR, you'd see night and day. Believe me, you're not missing anything not getting our broke-a** VOD service, when it works!

While I haven't played around with a DirecTV receiver ever since the P3 (football) card was up and running, even the most basic RCA receiver was better than what Rogers is offering now.

I'm with others who want a AT&T U-Verse service to be able nationally or regionally.

[classicsat]

Originally Posted by alexetel

I'm with others who want a AT&T U-Verse service to be able nationally or regionally.

It is FIOS (fibre to the premesis, cable to the set) people want. Comparatively, Uverse sucks (fibre to the neighbourhood, IPTV tot he home/set, currently only one HD channel/up to 4 SD channels at a time to the home).

[technut]

Right. An example of FiOS is the Verizon service in the US.

[travisc]

FiOS IS the Verizon service in the US. Other fibre to the home (FTTH) services are not FiOS. FiOS is Verizon's brand for their service.

[technut]

Thanks for the clarification travisc, I wasn't aware FiOS is a brand.

[hugh]

I'm not sure what it would take to make it viable, but I'd pay a $500-$1000 install charge to get fiber to my house if the monthly service charges were similar to the competition.

But you'd be one of very few people. I was talking to a Bell installer about IPTV and we were discussing the costs of fibre to the home but the costs, even if you did a whole neighbourhood, would likely be that price. The truth is that only a very small number of people would pay that kind of dough let alone a whole neigbourhood.

I can only see FTTH being reasonable in new residential developments or new MDU's. (multiple dwelling units)

[sifting]

How close to the home have they got with fiber? Is it only used in main trunks? Or what?

[sifting]

I ask because according to some recent studies, fibre-to-the-home networks now pass almost 12 million North American homes.

As a consequence of the high-tech boom-bust, there is also, I believe, a lot of dark fiber out there both in Canada and the U.S. There have even been stories about Google wanting to buy it.

I wonder if it isn't time for governments to get involved in this by putting up money to leverage private investment.

[hugh]

there is also, I believe, a lot of dark fiber out there both in Canada and the U.S.

But its not going to homes. The problem any exec will tell is the "last mile" getting the fibre from a node, which may serve a few hundred to few thousand homes, to the home itself.

[travisc]

I find it interesting how government is like an on/off switch for people... People decry their presence in telecom via the CRTC, but then turn around and demand that they start doing something so we can all get 100 Mbps to our houses for 50 cents a month. Unfortunately government usually does the opposite of what we want.

[technut]

Just saying, an install fee of $500-$1000 is what it would be worth to me (in the same range as the price of another Shaw PVR box). I know I don't speak for the majority, but if our providers keep downgrading their services instead of upgrading them I may have a lot more company soon.

In any case, actual install charges don't seem to be anywhere near that high.

For example, Verizon FiOS TV install looks to be free, and FiOS Internet is free with a 1 year contract or $80 install for month-to-month service. Of course, you have to be in their service area.

When do you suppose they'll add Canada to their service area?