Unbundling of the local loop

[Paul in NZ]

Weeeelll....

I started the telecommunications industry in 1974. (yes really) and am still kinda in it now.

I've built a lot of the infrastructure still in use and seen the industry go from valves and electromechanical to god knows what! fads and fashions in technology come and go every few years. FOTS is hot, DMR is in FOTS is out DMR is out Satellite is cool.. Bah!

However, like nearly every other major utility in this country, the guts of the transport and delivery mechanisim is stuff that was built in the period from the 1960's through to the middle of the 1980's. Sure, repairs and enhancements are done constantly but there have been very few major technology updates and roll outs since then. Mostly because the shareholders require a return!

You cannot realistically expect the same telecommunications infrastructure in a country of 4 million spread out over the kind of terrain that we have that you would get in New York or even Christchurch and it's not just telecoms fault. BCL own hundreds of towers and other high points and a massive network but will they unbundle? Nope!

As Jim2 says, be careful folks, especially if youn live in a smaller community!

[Insanity_rules]

Yep - and in my experience wireless can suck with "rain fade" and problems like "things" being between you and the nearest station. That's crap.

From this weeks Computerworld re: Telecom's current bullsh!t "Faster, Cheaper" offer:

...Asked if it wasn't reasonable for customers to expect both faster and cheaper broadband, Berry says Telecom's "high-level advertising" states "faster, cheaper broadband" - without an "and" to separate the words.
Therefore, customers can expect one or the other, but not both at the same time....

The rabbits were in charge of the lettuce patch.

I fully agree, telecom acted fast to spin a bad situation that it created to try to look like a hero. When in actual fact they were forced to move in that direction. Even the actualities of their deal benefit them greatly not the end user. Talk about rip off.

I use a 1X cellular data modem on a daily basis and I feel that technology has its act together. Coverage is good and the actual real world data speed is acceptable (although would be crap for gaming).

WIFI back bone does have a top end potential to be good but the current broadcast power is not good enough.

[James Deuce]

I use a 1X cellular data modem on a daily basis and I feel that technology has its act together. Coverage is good and the actual real world data speed is acceptable (although would be crap for gaming).

Speed isn't the issue. Telecom has taken to packet queueing to combat bandwidth hogging from gamers and VOIP, at major gateways in their network. Time critical app front end to server, and peer to peer comms get hammered by this, while non-time critical data doesn't care. Customers like yourself don't notice that there is an issue, while people who use their Internet connections the way I described earlier, do have a problem. QOS needs to be consistent and adhered to. If Telecom aren't going to provide an Internet backbone that supports two growing and increasingly important uses of the Internet then they should say so.

I think the quality issues with NZ Internet connectivity far outweigh issues around unbundling. Who's going to invest in NZ local loop? It's bloody expensive for a minimum return, as Paul in NZ has pointed out.

[Swoop]

Telecom WILL price the competition out of the market. They don't have to fund the investment like their competition will.

Big deal.
Telescum can offer free internet access and I'll still be with another company - ON PRINCIPAL!!!

[Swoop]

...The only reason it rates in New Zealand is that it our largest publicly listed company and dominates the whole NZX...

Why does this have any bearing on a R-18 porn magazine.....?

and why can't the stock exchange cease piggybacking on the success of the porn industry???

[TwoSeven]

As far as I know, WiMax is two standards (with now a spanish unit doing the certification). 802.16-2004 is the standard for the wireless backhaul (think wireless main trunk line) and is designed for carriers, 802.16 (might be 802.16 e) is the standard for the end user equipment.

Last pricing I saw was approx US$10k for the tower with support for 1000 users at 50mbit over 6miles (75mb closer up). Although this may be unrealistic pricing as I've not seen any 'actuals' once all the issues have been resovled. Compare that to the cost of a mobile MSC/BSC and you'll see how competitive it is.

No need to try and scare all the rural users. Unbundling means [or should mean - we dont actually know what the legislation actually provides yet] that a rural community or even a business can get together and install their own service rather than having to get someone else to do it.

Realistically tho, once the technology becomes slightly more stable, people work out the cost model and test the viability I think that may become a good option.

The only other issue about control of the last mile that I've seen happen is the set top box wars. I would like to see the box providers be forced to allow other branded boxes (such as baseband decoders) used, so that us consumers can access better technology than what is provided without having to be stung second box charges and all the other muck.

[rogson]

It is obscene that Telecom was permitted (through government acquiescence) to make $850 million profit a year (by definition - surplus over cost). Thats over $200 they have taken out of every man, woman and child's pocket in NZ to give to their shareholders.

The government asked them to use this surplus to foster a public good - i.e. promote more pervasive and lower cost communications - but that actually generated conflicts of interest for Telecom - so its about time the rug was pulled.

[sAsLEX]

As far as I know, WiMax is two standards (with now a spanish unit doing the certification). 802.16-2004 is the standard for the wireless backhaul (think wireless main trunk line) and is designed for carriers, 802.16 (might be 802.16 e) is the standard for the end user equipment.

Basically wrong but right kinda. WiMAX is looking to make one standard, with backhaul and mobile, NLOS aspects incorparted into it. This is to make it so like Wi-Fi everyone is reading from the same page(where at the moment everyone is taking their own view of the 802.16 standard), the WiMAX forum wants to also administer a WiMAX compatible mark to put on equipment that works with other WiMAX equipment.

But yes it is based on the 802.16 standard which has the 2004 ammendement and the e ammendment is for mobile applications of up to vehicular speeds.

[Indoo]

Jim2 speaks the truth...

[TwoSeven]

Speed isn't the issue. Telecom has taken to packet queueing to combat bandwidth hogging from gamers and VOIP, at major gateways in their network.

Its not bandwidth hogging. Its called standard usage models if they'd look at trends around the world. People dont just read static web pages anymore (well they do in this country), they have moved on and are using peer to peer technology and client server (which is what online gaming is).

Not our fault that the telco's designed their network capacity for the wrong usage model. Anyone with any sense would have designed for a much larger capacity and used symetric traffic.

Still I agree, if telecom thing that the world is full of aunt janes that read web pages, then they should just say - let someone else build the network

[James Deuce]

Its not bandwidth hogging.

It is from Telecom's perspective.

I didn't think I would need to point deliberate irony out to an Englishman.

[TwoSeven]

Keh - No sprechy die native

Still, I can understand em using some shaping, just that sometimes the way telco's often say things - its always the users fault they have to do it the way they do.

[sAsLEX]

just that sometimes the way telco's often say things

Like look at your marvelous new upgrade!

When they meant to say: your net might be quicker at 0430 in the morning but will be even suckier at all other times now