[AusNOG] AAB Statement

[Stephen Gillies]

On 03/09/10 22:44, Grahame Lynch wrote:
> Some claim the HFC rollouts as evidence of market failure in broadband.

I see HFC rollouts as evidence that DSL technology blows. It doesn't
reach enough users (in Australia, based on current copper runs) and
requires point to point copper between the DSLAM and the user. Even the
Coalition Broadband Sandcastle Plan recognised this (point 3, if you
have the document handy).

Take my situation, my only option for something over ADSL1 1.5mb is HFC
and I'm in Hornsby just 20kms from Sydney's CBD. Not the middle of the
bush somewhere (but > 5kms from my exchange).

I pity the people a block away from me on a Telstra RIM, who can't get
any kind of DSL and are stuck with Telstra HFC (Telstra continue to roll
HFC, I've seen them running it out and it recently came up my street) or
mobile broadband technologies (as many 3G towers appear support up to
around 14 concurrent users there have been neighbourhood arguments,
articles in the local paper... etc).

Back to cable networks, there was a comcast ad called 'bandwidth hog'. I
can't find it right now but this washington post article from 2007
illustrates some of the issues cable providers run into with large scale
HFC roll outs- suggesting that HFC isn't the answer either

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/06/AR2007090602545.html

LTE might help, and I've always wanted my own femtocell. I'll need one,
my 3G coverage is rubbish because of the placement of the towers around
my area and the lay of the land. I'm in a complete optus blackspot.

Question: If we're looking at 4G (LTE) to provide an alternative to
running fibre up my street and into my house so I get some choice of ISP
and two people in my house can watch streamed TV at the same time,
surely there's somewhere in the world has LTE been rolled out as the
primary access technology we can look at for success stories?

Are there any successful LTE implementations delivering (even) HFC
comparable services where the copper isn't available? It's just
TeliaSonera in Sweden/Finland* at the moment isn't it?


MAx
max at 3rdbasenetworks.net.au

* Finland Government are rolling fibre:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/finland-first-country-to-make-broadband-service-a-right/