It looks like the wholesale ISPs are a little closer to getting faster DSL speeds now that the CRTC has ordered the ILECs to post interim tariffs. The tariffs will likely not be competitive but it was the only way to overcome the incumbent's stonewalling according TekSavvy's CEO, Rocky Gaudrault, who, I should add, is supposed to be on sabbatical and should not really be paying attention these matters. ^_^
Showing posts with label dsl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dsl. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Paying For Actual Speed
Every ISP wants users to pay for actual usage. Fair enough, but how many mention paying for actual speed you are getting? It's ridiculous that I should pay the same for a DSL connection whether I'm 1 km or 3 km from the Central Office. The difference in maximum possible speed is significant between those distances. The ISPs never mention this difference at all, except as a vague "up to" references in the advertising.
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Little ISP That Could
The survival of all small, independent ISPs is at stake and they all know it. Bell has been slowly eroding any competitive advantage that the small ISPs may have had with tariffs such as usage based billing. The small ISPs are fighting back and somehow my ISP, TekSavvy, finds itself leading the charge.
Don't believe me? The CRTC will hold hearings that will examine allowing independent ISPs to co-locate DSLAMs in the central offices. And right there, presenting second only after Bell, is TekSavvy. CEO Rocky Rocky Gaudrault explains why. They indeed are the little ISP that could.
There's no guarantees that the CRTC will allow co-location. If anything, recent decisions would seem to indicate favouring the ILECs. However, the folks at TekSavvy seem rather confident about success and have already announced plans for how they intend to raise money for the DSLAMs with a $2 increase for basic DSL service.
I actually don't have problem with the price increase but it is an inefficient manner in which to build infrastructure. The ILECs didn't have to do it this way. When they were starting out, they got plenty of government support, which is how public infrastructure should be built.
Don't believe me? The CRTC will hold hearings that will examine allowing independent ISPs to co-locate DSLAMs in the central offices. And right there, presenting second only after Bell, is TekSavvy. CEO Rocky Rocky Gaudrault explains why. They indeed are the little ISP that could.
There's no guarantees that the CRTC will allow co-location. If anything, recent decisions would seem to indicate favouring the ILECs. However, the folks at TekSavvy seem rather confident about success and have already announced plans for how they intend to raise money for the DSLAMs with a $2 increase for basic DSL service.
I actually don't have problem with the price increase but it is an inefficient manner in which to build infrastructure. The ILECs didn't have to do it this way. When they were starting out, they got plenty of government support, which is how public infrastructure should be built.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Central Office Locations
While browsing TekSavvy's DSLReports forum, I found a post that mentioned telcodata.us, a site which locates the Central Office for a given area code and exchange prefix. For example, my line connects to this CO, and the address appears in the detailed switch info link. You even get a map, although the one shown in that link is wrong. It looks like they are using the lat/long data which is incorrect for that address. If you search Google Maps for the address, the location is shown near Midland and Finch, which matches what I already knew. I've always wanted a way to get this information and once again the saying "You can find anything on the Internet" is proven correct. :) But, why would I want to know the locations of the COs?
I'm still hunting for an apartment and one of my requirements is reasonable DSL speed. DSL speed is dependent on the distance from the CO. So, if you can estimate the distance, you can get an idea of the speed that might be achieved from that apartment. This is by no means accurate since telephone lines are usually laid along the cheapest route, which may not be the shortest, but it is better than nothing.
Even so, the usefulness of the idea has other limits. For one, the apartment must be in the same building has the phone number in the ad, so basement apartments in single family houses are a good bet. But even then, sometimes the advert gives a cell number, or the owner might not occupy the same house, which is revealed when the CO for the number is on the other side of the city!
The real benefit is that it will open up areas of the city that I hadn't considered before because I was too uncertain which CO serviced the area. Having more information is never a bad thing.
I'm still hunting for an apartment and one of my requirements is reasonable DSL speed. DSL speed is dependent on the distance from the CO. So, if you can estimate the distance, you can get an idea of the speed that might be achieved from that apartment. This is by no means accurate since telephone lines are usually laid along the cheapest route, which may not be the shortest, but it is better than nothing.
Even so, the usefulness of the idea has other limits. For one, the apartment must be in the same building has the phone number in the ad, so basement apartments in single family houses are a good bet. But even then, sometimes the advert gives a cell number, or the owner might not occupy the same house, which is revealed when the CO for the number is on the other side of the city!
The real benefit is that it will open up areas of the city that I hadn't considered before because I was too uncertain which CO serviced the area. Having more information is never a bad thing.
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