[kwlug-disc] UBB comes to Teksavvy

[Chris Frey]

Just a few responses, which I think are the crux of the debate...


On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 08:49:01PM -0500, unsolicited at swiz.ca wrote:
> > for years.  These sorts of advances don't come along unless you have
> > cheap bandwidth and some means to pry content out of the dry, crusty
> > fingers of megacorporations.
> 
> Whom owns the content?
> 
> The crux of this and UBB is - things cost too much.
> 
> Different issue.

They may be different issues, but they are intimately connected.
The megacorporation may own the content, but the megacorporation
sees no need to advance with technology until shown that they must.
If we enforce their business plan with legislation, they will heve
even less incentive to advance.


> Let us please all remember:
> - those numbers will be for many aspects of Bell's business. As JJ points
> out, they do lots of things.

True.  But _four_ _billion_ _dollars_!  16 billion a year!  That's 3% of
the national debt.  I don't call that hurting. :-)

If Bell wants to remain a monopoly, they need to bear the burdens as well
as the benefits.  Otherwise, split them up so they don't get to compete
with their own ISP customers.


> - can you really blame Bell for advocating what it can, in any legitimate
> way it can, to advance it's cause of making more and more money.

Absolutely.  Profit-seeking without a conscience is oppression.

Otherwise, corporations can justify many tragedies, including environmental
ruin, in the name of merely seeking more money.  Just because the government
allows it doesn't make it right.

The CRTC has a hand in this too, but Bell is not free of blame.  They
asked for the oppressive situation in the first place!  And now everyone
is stuck with the same rules.  I'd have less of a problem with Bell if
they only charged UBB to their own customers.  Then they would only
be cutting their own throats, and not forcing their desires on everyone else.

I have no problem with the general idea of paying for what I use.
And a fair and unforced UBB system would be fine.  Leave room for both UBB
and unlimited plans, and see which ones win.  But setting prices by law
across the entire industry is not right.  If the government wants to do
that, then ISPs should be government-owned.

- Chris