Tag: competing Internet service

Free upgrades its fibre customers to Gigabit broadband

Articles

Map of France

France – where Gigabit fibre is a free upgrade courtesy of Free

French ISP Free upgrades fiber customers to gigabit broadband |CNET

French ISP Free offers fiber customers 1Gbps upgrade for no cost | PC World

From the horse’s mouth

Free

English-language press release (PDF)

My Comments

Again France is showing its true colours as a highly-competitive Internet service market. What with the “n-boxes” that yield very high capabilities including network-attached storage or Blu-Ray 3D players in the set-top boxes; along with all sorts of services offered by these providers for cost-effective prices as I have written about before here in this user guide.

Now the ante has been raised further by Free who had “lit the fire” for this highly-competitive Internet service. Here, they are upgrading their fibre customers to full Gigabit capacity at no extra cost. The setup even uses the concept of “switched fibre” where each subscriber gets their own dedicated Gigabit bandwidth rather than sharing the same bandwidth. This will apply to these customers who are using the highly-strung Freebox Révolution equipment.

It could lead to a situation where other Internet providers in France start to answer Free by offering similar capacities to the public. This could be a very interesting turn for most of France and lead to a European country that can be described as being ready for technologies like 4K UHDTV or “all-IP” TV distribution. Even Brussels will be looking on very keenly as France is seen as a model of a highly-competitive market.

Real Internet-service competition arrives in Utah courtesy of Google Fiber

Article

Google Fiber now faces Comcast’s 250 Mbps offering in Provo – FierceTelecom

Comcast Offering 250 Mbps in Provo for $80 | Broadband DSL Reports

My Comments

The Internet press in the USA have lamented the lack of real competition for consumer fixed-line broadband services. This has come about with an incumbent telephony provider, typically a “Baby Bell”, offering the ADSL service along with one of the big cable-TV names like Comcast, Cox or Time-Warner Cable providing the cable-modem service for most markets.

Typically these companies have been given exclusive franchise to sell telephony or cable-TV to that particular market and these companies own the infrastructure to the customer’s home. Concepts like loop unbundling where a competing provider has direct access to the electrical infrastructure have been met with resistance in the American market.

Now Google Fiber have established their fibre-to-the-premises infrastructure in Provo, Utah by buying the iProvo network in that town and is starting to light up the service there. This has caused Comcast to be worried and had them offer packages like a 250Mbps pure-play Internet service for US$80 and double-play TV+105Mbps Internet services for US$70-100. The “Free Utopia” blog had quoted that the impending competition is good for the customer.

I also wonder whether the established “Baby Bell” telephone provider will raise the bar and offer attractive ADSL deals in response to the impending arrival of Google Fiber. Other issues that will be interesting to observe include whether the competition will also affect how Comcast behaves towards their customers such as customer-support issues and service-level agreements including Net Neutrality.

Los Angeles to establish free citywide public Wi-Fi in the treacherous US market

Article

Los Angeles Contemplates A Plan For Free Citywide Wi-Fi | Co.Exist | ideas + impact

My Comments

There have been previous attempts at US local government establishing citywide Wi-Fi public Internet services but a lot of these efforts have been shut down or curtailed by, usually, state governments working at the behest of established local telephony and cable-TV companies.

The Los Angeles City Council are putting forward an idea to have a citywide public Wi-Fi network but are having to realise the practicalities like the tall buildings and were having to factor in the activity of the local telephony and cable-TV services. This is similar to Google establishing fibre Internet in Kansas City and a few other US cities in competition with the established telephony and cable-TV operators.

The issue that will have to be raised is that action at the federal level has to be taken by a strong government to allow right-of-way access for competitive Internet and telecommunications services. Here, I have seen the effect of the Carterfone hearing and the anti-trust investigation in to AT&T, which led to competitive telephony service, wearing off and the country falling back to uncompetitive Internet access with most areas having the choice between two operators working as a cartel.

What America needs to be educated about is infrastructure-level competition with concepts like local-loop or sub-loop unbundling, the operation of public Wi-Fi networks, implementing different media to provide competitive telecommunications access, virtual-network competition and other concepts. Here, they could observe what France has done to provide a lively telecommunications, cable-TV and Internet market that really is for the consumer.

Gigaclear to provide competitive retail access to their fibre networks

Article

thinkbroadband :: Gigaclear partners with Fluidata to offer provider choice on network

My Comments

In the UK, a lot of small fibre-based networks are popping up in different country areas to offer real next-generation broadband to these areas. They are typically either a sole private effort or assisted by local or central government or even the local community.

But, unlike most next-generation broadband networks (including the National Broadband Network in Australia) and the ADSL broadband networks in most areas, there isn’t competitive access to the infrastructure. Here, it makes it hard for these markets to be approached with retail Internet service that competes on price or services offered.

Now, Gigaclear, whom I have been following on HomeNetworking01.info, have partnered with Fluidata to open their fibre-to-the-premises networks to other retail providers on a competitive-access model. This could allow a potential customer in Lyddington, Appleton or somewhere similar to benefit from a competitive tariff chart or sign up to a package that has “all the fruit” like VoIP telephony or IP-provided television.

There needs to be a platform for providing competitive access to infrastructure provided as part of any new next-generation-broadband project  This means that there is a company who looks after the infrastructure to the point of demarcation between the company’s responsibility and the customer’s responsibility at a customer’s installation.

But different companies can use this platform to provide a business or home customer access to the Internet using this infrastructure but in a competitive manner. Here, a customer then chooses which company provides an offer that best suits their needs and provides the best “bang for the buck”.

One could easily think that such a platform needs to be built or integrated at a later stage after the project is established but it is worth investigation any competitive-access systems as part of rolling out a next-generation Internet or rural-broadband-enablement project.

Two of the n-box systems in France that answer the Freebox Révolution

Articles and Resources (French language)

La Livebox Play entre en scène – Tour d’horizon de l’offre Livebox Play – DegroupNews.com (Review)

La Box by Numericable (Interactive Advertisement by Numericable)

My comments

After the Freebox Révolution had appeared on the French market as a highly-credible piece of carrier-provided consumer equipment provided as part of a triple-play service, the bar had been raised for such equipment.

For example, the décodeurs i.e. the set-top boxes had become fully-capable video peripherals that integrate a slot-load Blu-Ray 3D player and provide the existing TV set with full smart-TV abilities. This even includes games-console functionality with access to a carrier-hosted app store for these games. Some of the remote controls that come with the set-top equipment have “out-of-the-ordinary” control methods like gesture-based control and RF controller-STB link, with some offering the HDMI-Consumer-Electronics-Control functionality so you can control your flatscreen TV’s source-selection, volume and power wit these remotes.

As well, the n-boxes i.e. the gateway devices are equipped with a network-attached storage based around an integrated hard disk. These would work to the common file-presentation protocols like SMB/CIFS, FTP, HTTP, iTunes (DAAP) and DLNA while offering functionality that a mid-tier consumer NAS would offer like a download manager / torrent server. Even the way the carriers have the gateway devices styled carries the message that they don’t look like your father’s old station wagon.

I have previously covered on HomeNetworking01.info the ability for French-market Samsung Smart TVs to work with Le Modem  which is part of Orange’s LiveBox Play package.

Numericable’s La Box package is an all-in-one device which connects to their FTTN / DOCSIS cable-modem service. But this device has the cable modem, router, VoIP gateway, NAS, PVR and Blu-Ray functionality in the one box. This setup even uses the QR codes as one of its methods for securely enrolling smartphones and tablets to the Wi-Fi wireless network segment.

The LiveBox Play gateway device, henceforth known as Le Modem, implements things like an OLED customer-information display and uses 3 WAN options – VDSL2, ADSL2 and fibre-to-the-premises.

There are others like the Bbox Sensation which also are equipped with the similar functionality but it would be interesting to see who else would run with similar hardware that has this high level of functionality or raise the stakes further through the firmware update cycles.

Similarly it would be interesting to see whether these devices just appear within France or appear in other markets where there is real competition on the Internet-service front.

La Réunion to have a fibre-optic next-generation broadband network

Article – French language

ZEOP apporte la fibre optique à La Réunion – DegroupNews.com

My Comments

Previously, I had written an article about La Réunion, one of France’s “Départements Outre Mer” colonies having to deal with the issue of costly Internet access on that island.

Now there is action afoot to set up a next-generation broadband network on this island near Madagascar. ZEOP, who is an ISP that services this colony has put up the idea of a fibre-optic network being set up via their “Réunicable” subsidiary.

They will initially work on Saint Gilles which is their main economic centre due to the existence of a popular seaside resort with the work starting in April 2013. The goal is to connect 11000 premises to the network but I am not sure whether this effort is the same “fibre-to-the-node” deployment with a coaxial run to the subscriber as has been set up by Réunicable for the Pont D’Yves and Bras de Ponth dual-play services.

There will be an expectation that ZEOP /Réunicable shares the infrastructure with competing retail carriers and providers in that territory as has been mandated in the French mainland. But ZEOP want to run their retail service as a triple-play €49.90 / month with included telephone calls to landlines within La Réunion, to France and 60 other international destinations; 50 TV channels and an Internet service of 35Mbps download / 2Mbps upload bandwidth.

Of course, as I have mentioned in the previous coverage on this Département Outre-Mer, there is the issue of increasing the bandwidth that the island has to the rest of the Internet world. This could be about making La Réunion become a link between Africa and other European and Asian territories through the use of more satellite and submarine cable uplinks.

As well, I would like to see ZEOP look at other technologies that can do the job better, for better value in this island like use of VDSL2 for the copper run or full fibre-to-the-premises.

Canal+ providing its own triple-play service to France

Article – French language

Canal+ prépare une offre triple play – DegroupNews.com (France)

My Comments

Canal+, France’s main pay-TV provider and known for the Engrenages (Spiral) crime drama, now is in on the Internet-service game.

This service will be primarily based around the SFR infrastructure, which means it will be available in areas that are “dégroupée” (fully unbundled) to SFR or have FTTH fibre-optic established by SFR. To understand this for anyone setting up in France, have a look at my feature article about what these terms and requirements are about in this highly-competitive market.

In this keenly-priced market, the prices range from €32.99 / month with 25Mb/s and the typical free landline calls to France and most destinations to €44.99 / month with the LeCube hardware. Expect this to have things like high-definition viewing, Wi-Fi home network and a personal-TV service as well as multi-screen and other features.

This shows that the competitive market can even allow for many service operators to exist using other providers’ infrastructure on a wholesale basis; and many of these operators could exist on such capabilities like content provision.

Switching telephone and broadband in the UK

Article

thinkbroadband :: Making broadband switching easier

My Comments

The reason I am pleased about this article that provides information for British consumers about switching their fixed-line telephone or broadband Internet service provider is helping them understand what can be involved with any of these changeovers in a hilghly-competitive market.

For example, it stresses the importance of satisfying contractural obligations like seeing out any fixed-term plans or making sure that the last bills with the prior service provider are “squared off” completely.

As well, they mentioned about procedures that may be in place with you and your provider in order to protect you from being switched to different communications providers against your will, a practice known as “slamming”. This may involve a letter of confirmation that you sign and return or a passcode that you give to the customer representative of your previous and/ or new provider to authorise you change.

They covered different changeover scenarios such as moving between two retail providers using the same wholesale provider or different wholesale providers. This also included situations where the different wholesale providers use different backend “exchange-to-exchange” infrastructure. There is even the case of a setup where the handover involves totally different infrastructure like heading to a cable or fibre-based provider from an ADSL provider.

But some people do change their telephone or broadband provider when they change their home or business locations; and this usually is a simpler practice of “winding up” business with the previous provider and starting afresh with the current provider. If the move is within the same town and you retain your current phone number, it may be similar to changing service providers at your current address.

People in other countries that are heading towards highly-competitive telephone and broadband markets should have a look at the ThinkBroadband article so they can be aware of what happens when users are shifted between different providers.

British Telecom to touch Scotland and Wales with fibre-optic technology

Article

BT fibre rollout reaches Scotland, Wales • The Register

My Comments

British Telecom are now touching Scotland and Wales with their fibre-based next-generation-broadband services.

These will use a combination of fibre-to-the-cabinet and fibre-to-the-home deployment setups depending on the location. They wanted to have 34 exchanges in Scotland and 16 exchanges in Wales fibre-ready by 2012 with two thirds of UK premises passed by their fibre-optic network by 2014. This is part of their bid for the latest round of Broadband Delivery UK funding.

How I see it is that the upgrades are happening in the face of various local-focused rural-broadband-enrichment activity that is taking place through various parts of rural UK. In some cases, it could lead to the creation of competitive next-generation broadband like what is occurring in France where providers can compete on an infrastructure level.  It may then put BT “on notice” about the pricing and quality of their service as far as consumers and retail Internet providers are concerned due to the availability of this competing Internet infrastructure.

At least these kind of rollouts could then allow for vibrant competition in Internet service delivery in the UK.

Fibre-to-the-home subscription rate in France increases by 71% over a year

Article – French language

Le nombre d’abonnés FTTH a augmenté de 71 % en un an – DegroupNews.com (France)

My comments

After I had reviewed this article about the apparent increase in fibre-to-the-home next-generation Internet subscribers, I had noticed a few key facts.

The areas where there was the FTTH activity taking place were France’s major cities, but where there has been local initiative taking place concerning real-broadband or next-generation Internet, there has been the activity.

A good question to ask is whether there is immediate takeup of FTTH next-generation Internet as soon as customers know that the service is passing their door? For the apartment buildings and other multi-tenancy buildings, there may be issues concerning the rollout within the buildings as agreements are struck with landlords and building-management associations (body corporates).

I would also find that the competitive-service measures such as “multifibre” (each provider maintaining fibre infrastructure to the customer” and “monofibre” (infrastructure shared by multiple providers) allows more customers to choose value for money for their triple-play Internet needs.