[AusNOG] AAPT / TPG Merge NWB

[Mark ZZZ Smith]

>________________________________
> From: Shane Short <shane at short.id.au>
>To: Rod Veith <rod at rb.net.au> 
>Cc: ausnog at ausnog.net 
>Sent: Friday, 6 June 2014 12:59 AM
>Subject: Re: [AusNOG] AAPT / TPG Merge NWB
> 
>
>
>Competition has been our 
apparent saviour for the last mile for the last decade (or when the 
local-loop was deregulated, whichever was first), but it's never come. 
This whole notion of "leave it up to the Telco's, they'll compete and 
everyone wins" is complete bullshit. Telco's cherry-pick last mile 
installations that make sense to them-- ignoring everybody else; which 
amusingly, is exactly where we are now.
>

Cherry picking is actually how technology becomes cheaper for everybody.

Got airbags in your average car today? That is because Mercedes Benz were "cherry picking" wealthy people who bought high end S-Class cars with them in 1981.

Got a large flat screen TV that cost you no more than $1000 to $2000? That is because wealthy people were "cherry picked" and paid $10K to $15K for those sorts of TVs 10 or so years ago.

Cherry picking kicks off the process of scales of economy, lowering costs and then making what used to be a niche and expensive technology a commodity one.

The cherry picking ISPs are they ones that

(a) bought wholesale ADSL services from Telstra, creating demand for Telstra to increase both their and therefore the nation's ADSL foot print, and also allowing Telstra to gain volume discounts from their suppliers, and

(b) installed their own ADSL infrastructure because it was cheaper than using Telstra's, which not only provided lower prices to their customers, it also provided wholesale ADSL alternatives to Telstra, as well as applied downwards pressure on both Telstra's wholesale and retail prices too, benefiting Telstra's customers too.

The only losers from this have been Telstra's shareholders, because their dividends have been lower than if Telstra was a monopoly provider. (When people complain about "poor old, holds more than half the market, multi-billion dollar revenue Telstra" being taken advantage of by cherry pickers, I always wonder if they're secretly a TLS shareholder ...)

Telstra have certainly tried to use their dominant position to reduce these effects, and that is where, quite rightly, the ACCC have stepped in.

If you think 'cherry picking' is bad, consider where we'd be if Telstra had stayed the only ADSL provider, and continued to only provide a wholesale layer 3 ADSL service, as they wanted to:

http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/26524/subdr117.pdf


>I'm not saying a regulated incumbent last mile provider isn't without 

it's flaws, but in my mind it's the best option we've got.
>

Depends on how well the regulation works, and if it is in reaction to behaviours that need regulating, it can sometimes come into effect years after the behaviours that need to be regulated have started.

For monopoly / bottleneck infrastructure, I prefer the model of the government owning the infrastructure, but outsourcing operate and maintain service contracts on a shorter term basis e.g., no more than 3 to 5 years, with very strict and regularly reviewed (e.g., annually) and measured (e.g., quarterly) performance criteria, so that exploited loop holes can be plugged.

That being said, I'm still very wary of government mandated monopolies, because when you're unhappy with their service, your only alternative choice is not to buy at all.


>-Shane
>
>
>Rod Veith wrote: RE: [AusNOG] AAPT / TPG Merge NWB
>
>
>
> 
>I can just see me under the last mile competition scenario calling ‘my 
telco’ and asking them to put on the internet for me in my cul-de-sac 
court in ‘name-your-suburb’ and having them say:
> 
>1.      Not a problem Rod, we’ll do that for you, it will take 2 days  ---  after 
our planning people take 2-12 months looking at your request (sorry 
we’re snowed under with everyone wanting access to the internet and 
phone services), another 2-3 months co-ordinating with the duct owner to obtain duct access, 1 day to install termination box in house,  2-3 
months delay queuing with the civil works section (they are flat out as 
well), 3 days hauling cable to your house, another 3 months as the 
completion request got lost somewhere, another visit to connect fibre 
router, 1 min to turn on service -  oops wrong house, sorry what address are you at again?  And this assumes they already have fibre to your 
nearest node point or
> 
>2.      (Delay as the customer service representative stifles some laughter after 
looking up your address), sorry Mr Rod we do not service that area, 
please check back with us in 2 years time.
> 
>Rod
> 
> 
>From:Paul Wallace [mailto:paul.wallace at mtgi.com.au] 
>Sent: Thursday, 5 June 2014 7:43 PM
>To: Graeme Allen; Rod Veith; ausnog at ausnog.net
>Subject: RE: [AusNOG] AAPT / TPG Merge NWB
> 
>Rod –
> 
>Could you kindly set out your reasoning in support of your contention that “It is 
the last place competition makes sense.”
> 
>?? thanks
> 
>-P
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>From:AusNOG [mailto:ausnog-bounces at lists.ausnog.net] On Behalf Of Graeme Allen
>Sent: Thursday, 5 June 2014 
7:17 PM
>To: Rod Veith; ausnog at ausnog.net
>Subject: Re: [AusNOG] AAPT / TPG Merge NWB
> 
>Here here! A single regulated national 
railway to Sydney is all we will ever need. Legislate those pesky 
airlines and roads out of existence, put in non-complete clauses so 
no-one can ever build anything else ever again, and we can all live in a prescribed governmental nirvana, its a model that's been proven to work again and again.
>On 5 June 2014 19:04:25 GMT+10:00, Rod Veith <rod at rb.net.au> wrote:
>Quote 
Paul"…… Last mile infrastructure competition would be a huge bonus for Australian 
consumers."
>It is the last place competition makes sense. Should we also have 4 providers of railway lines to Sydney? or 3 
driveways into your house?
>A 
national provider, under regulation,makes 
the most sense for Australia. Competition is not right cure for all 
problems.
>Rod
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