Observations of an Internet Middleman (Level3) (was: RIP Network Neutrality

Thu May 15 18:27:31 UTC 2014

On May 15, 2014, at 10:18 AM, Jean-Francois Mezei <jfmezei_nanog at vaxination.ca> wrote:

> On 14-05-15 10:26, Owen DeLong wrote:
>> Choosing between Comcast and a legacy Telco is like choosing between legionnaire’s disease and SARS.
> 
> Twisted pair is certantly "legacy".
> 
> Is there a feeling that coax cable/DOSCIS is also "legacy" in terms of
> current capacity/speeds ? Or is that technology still considered viable
> against FTTH ?
> 
> I realise that business practices make north american incumbents
> undesirable compared to the rest of the world, especially Comcast's
> dirty tricks with Netflix as an example.
> 
> But in terms of the last mile technology and wiring (for instance, homes
> per HFC node) sre north american cavlecos up to par with the rest of the
> world ?

I am not speaking specifically about any one company here.

In North America, very few places have any level of FTTH. If you are in a rural area with USF subsidies, you are more likely to have FTTH than many urban areas. Co-ax, or if you’re somewhat lucky, HFC is about the best last mile technology available to most US subscribers.

In states where some city invested in municipal FTTH on an open-access basis, the incumbent $CABLECOS and $TELCOS have fought hard to push legislation making it illegal for other cities in the state to do the same.

The state of broadband networks in the US in general can best be described as pathetic and/or apathetic when it comes to the consumer’s interest. Lilly Tomlin summed this up very well in a number of her early comedy sketches where she pretended to be a telephone company operator. Her catch phrase was “We don’t care. We don’t have to. We’re the phone company!”

Further, it appears that several of the $CABLECOS and $TELCOS will actually attempt to quash their more vocal opponents by discussing public comments they make on a personal basis with said opponents employer and using them as a “negotiating tactic”. Personally, I think this is one of the most underhanded and lowest forms of an act of desperation to try and squash public debate. To be very clear… This statement is absolutely not targeted at any one company. There were several.

Owen