4 ms·
Regulation does't always spur open competition and often has unintended consequences. Separate the last mile pipe provider/operator (infrastructure) from the s
by gz5 6y ago
Regulation does't always spur open competition and often has unintended consequences.
Separate the last mile pipe provider/operator (infrastructure) from the service providers. All service providers compete across that pipe. Traditional ISPs, niche providers, etc. I may choose 5 of them as a consumer.
It does necessitate an open, multi-tenant architecture. Let's invest there rather than investing in trying to implement a new regulatory scheme.
- noodlesUK 6y agoLocal loop unbundling, as it’s called in the U.K. has definitely driven prices down for DSL, but it means there’s very little in terms of actual consumer choice. It’s basically one ISP (virgin excluded cause that’s docsis and a totally different network) for everyone, with different people you can buy service from. If anything actually goes wrong with the network, open reach fixes it, but there’s no way for a company to differentiate on performance, only price.
- milankragujevic 6y agoThere are "variants" of LLU that allow ISPs to install their own equipment in the ILECs central office buildings, which would allow the ISP to utilize their own equipment on both ends of the line (CPE and DSLAM). It is rare, though, and incompatible with Vectoring for example. Most xDSL ISPs just resell service and the ILEC uses a L2 VPN to route traffic from the DSLAM to the core network of the reseller ISP. Price is rarely lower, usually only with bundles such as IPTV or landline with cheap international calls...
- Proziam 6y agoCustomer service, features/bundles, and deal terms are reasonable ways for a company to differentiate itself I believe. I'd rather everyone have great internet access at a fair price and let the companies battle it out for a smaller piece of the pie. Consumers win.
- JoshTriplett 6y ago> there’s no way for a company to differentiate on performance, only price. That may be true for DSL, but for new infrastructure, you could have local fiber to the nearest meet-me room, and it's then your ISP's responsibility to light up that fiber. Fiber is capable enough that the limits on performance and service will absolutely be the ISP and the equipment you hook up.
- noodlesUK 6y agoYeah, you might, but generally I’ve seen most deployments of FTTH being GPON, which would mean you have to light up a small neighbourhood as the smallest unit, unless you do something funky like WDM...
- gz5 6y agois the opportunity for innovation limited by the bandwidth? in a fiber scenario for example, different service providers could may customize various packages which include capabilities such as: + security + IoT + education + VPN + content many of the above could have consumer and/or business flavors...
- crooked-v 6y ago> Separate the last mile pipe provider/operator (infrastructure) from the service providers. All service providers compete across that pipe. That sounds like regulation to me.