Bell HSPA+ Working in North Sault Area 25 Oct 12

Bell HSPA+ service in the North sault area appears to be working, at least in the Goulais area. I made a call on late Thursday, 25 Oct 2012 without any problems and again in the next morning. See this blog for additional details about the service and coverage.

Status of Bell Cell Sites in North Sault 24 Oct 12

There are indications that the activation of the Bell HSPA+ cellular service in the North Sault area is getting closer. I understand the new sites and network access links are currently undergoing tests and if there are no problems, the sites may be commissioned as early as the 26 Oct 2012 weekend. Once I can confirm the sites are working, I will publish a blog entry.

A couple of reminders; the new Bell sites are HSPA+ only and will not work with CDMA technology but Bell CDMA phones will continue to work on the Tbaytel network as they have for the past few years. However, since Bell and Tbaytel are using and operating from their own towers in different locations, the coverage for HSPA+ and CDMA may be different. Although the Bell and Tbaytel towers are in close proximity, other technical features may result in different coverage.

Bell data hubs should work on the new Bell sites. Most external antennas and amplifiers can be used with any brand of data hub although it may be necessary to get a different connector or pigtail to connect the coaxial cable to the data unit.

In comments at this blog entry I speculated as follows about the Bell service in North Sault: - "Based on the map projection I am suspicious that they may be adding a cell configuration to one of their existing towers in the north Batchawana Bay area but this is just a guess." It has now been confirmed that Bell will activate a third site in the area of the Hwy 17/Hwy 563 intersection. Also, the site which I have referred to as Bell Goulais (Buttermilk) , Bell calls Haviland.

In summary, the three new Bell HSPA+ sites are Batchawana Bay, Haviland and Heyden.

  Map Showing Coverage (Brownish) and Tower Locations (Red Stars)
Go to the Bell coverage site  to see a manipulable version of the Bell coverage map.

  Clearer Picture of Tower Locations (Blue Teardrops)

CRTC Asks for Public Input to a Wireless/Mobile/Cellular Consumer Code

On 11 Oct 2012, the CRTC issued an invitation to "Canadians to participate in the development of a consumer code for cell phones and other mobile devices." This launches a public consultation to obtain Canadians’ views on a new code for retail wireless services, such as cell phones and other personal mobile devices. The end of the open, public consultation process on 30 Nov 2012 will lead to public hearings to be held in Gatineau, PQ starting on 28 Jan 2013.

Background

This recent announcement is follow-on to the consultation conducted between 04 Apr 2012 and 03 May 2012 on whether or not there was a need for CRTC intervention to ensure competition in the wireless (mobile or cellular sector). As indicated in this blog, the overwhelming public and corporate response indicated some form of federal level control was required but for very different reasons. The general public expressed concern about the one –sided nature of the existing contractual practices which they viewed as favouring the corporations while the corporations expressed concern about the Balkanization of the regulations caused by the provinces adopting their own individual set of regulations which were not always in agreement.

Elaboration of Latest Call for Consultation

The CRTC is seeking input from the public on areas that should be covered by any proposed code for retail wireless service. The CRTC specifically mentioned the following high level areas in their announcement:

a. The terms and conditions that should be addressed by a code for cell phones and mobile devices;

b. to whom the code should apply;

c. how the code should be enforced; and

d. how the code’s effectiveness should be assessed.

The Commission also identified other areas that should be included in the code. This summary list shows some of these areas:

a. Clarity of contract terms and conditions

b. Changes to contract terms and conditions

c. Contract cancellation, expiration and renewal

d. Clarity of advertised prices

e. Application of the Code to bundles of telecommunications services

f. Notification of additional fees

g. Privacy policies

h. Hardware warranties and related issues

i. Loss or theft of hardware

j. Security deposits

k. Disconnection

Additional details about the content of the above list can be found at the CRTC webpage.

Public Participation

The general public may participate in the proceedings by:

a. filling out the online form;

b. writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2; or

c. sending a fax to the CRTC at 819-994-0218.

The public inputs are published  at this CRTC website.

Deferral Account: Bell Response to CRTC Letter

I received a reply dated 28 Sep 12 from Bell Canada, Regulatory Affairs concerning my letter to the CRTC about further delay in the Deferral Account roll-out  Background information about the letter is at this blog entry as well as the comments section.  The CRTC had directed Bell to respond to me not later than 08 Oct 12.

I have posted a copy of the most recent Bell Canada letter at this location.

The letter rehashes the submission Bell made to the CRTC in July of this year and indicates we can expect nothing in the way of Deferral Account implementation in the Algoma District until end August 2014.

A number of items in the letter caught my attention.

First, by admitting that the standard-speed wireless deployment products, which are  normally referred to as data hubs or HSPA+ broadband technology throughout this blog,  are fundamentally different than the Deferral Account product, it could be interpreted as an admission by Bell Canada  that the former do not meet the benchmark as a viable alternative to the traditional DSL or fibre based service.  Yet Bell is advertising and selling the product as a replacement or alternative service offering, especially in rural areas.  In other words, if one does not live in a Deferral Account area it will not get any better.

Second, I find it ironic that while Bell’s goal as stated in the letter “…is to offer the best possible Internet experience to all customers …” yet they not willing to adjust the rate on what they admit is an inferior product that “…is not technically designed to serve as a direct substitute…”.   In a logic that turns conventional thinking on its head, Bell implies that it cannot offer reduced rates because it is providing a poorer quality service.

I will continue to monitor the Deferral Account program to see where it goes from here.

Bell Cell Sites in North Sault Status as of 21 Sep 12

Indications are the construction of the actual towers and cell hardware for the Bell sites in North Sault at Heyden (Beaumont) and Goulais (Buttermilk) is now complete. The sites now need to be integrated into the network. 

One source indicated that Bell is in the process of finalizing the backhaul and network requirements and should have the sites operational within a week or two.

Another source indicated that Bell will be activating new sites in Thunder Bay in addition to the North Sault sites during the first week of Oct 2012. 

A New Approach to Data Hub Design

Australia and Canada are often compared when it comes to the roll-out of broadband (high speed) Internet connectivity. Both countries have a relatively small population spread out over a large geographical area. Both countries have a number of urban areas with high population densities as well large swathes of rural areas where population density is measured in single digits per hectare.

The challenge both countries face is how to deploy broadband (high speed) Internet to the rural areas. While both countries have adopted similar technological approaches using a combination of terrestrial fibre and copper cables systems delaying DSL and cable connectivity, mobile (cellular) broadband, traditional fixed wireless and satellite, the management of the challenge couldn't be more different.

Canada opted for private sector leadership and implementation with limited public sector involvement through capital cost public subsidies approximated at between $500 million to $800 million over an estimated 10 years. Government oversight was limited and shared between existing federal ministries and agencies and provincial organizations.  One of the agencies wants every Canadian to have 5 Mbps access by 2015.

Australia opted for a federal government leadership. They created a cabinet level office - Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy - and allotted a $34billion budget. The network being implemented for the government by private industry, including some Canadian companies, is called the National Broadband Network or NBN. The NBN is a wholesale-only, open access, high-speed broadband network.  This means NBN Co Limited – the company established by the government to design, build and operate the NBN – will roll out the network and sell wholesale services at a uniform price to service providers, such as your internet or phone provider. In turn, service providers will offer retail services to the consumers. The target end user speed for the network is 1 Gbps for the terrestrial based portion and 12 Mbps for the wireless and satellite based portions.

Both Australia and Canada are using data hub based technology for covering parts of rural areas.

One of the NBN subcontractors is NetComm, the same company that provides data hubs to Rogers and Tbaytel for their 3G/4G broadband networks.  I received a pointer from Northland Consultants on a new NetComm design concept being offered in support of the NBN.

The NetComm design combines the 3G/4G modem, router, Wi-Fi, high gain antenna and an optional telephone voice jack in a hardened box for mounting in an external location outside the customer's premise. The external electronics are power by a Power over Ethernet (PoE) injector. This means the whole unit is delivered as a single package without the need to purchase an additional antenna  and cables. 

More details are available on the NetComm website. Another approach along similar lines can be seen at another NetComm page.

I am not aware of any vendor offering this hardware configuration in Canada yet but I can see it as a potential solution to the Bell Deferral Account hardware concerns although I am not aware of a similar design by the Bell data hub supplier Netgear. 

CRTC Communications Monitoring Report for 2012

The annual CRTC Communications Monitoring Report for 2012 issued on 04 Sep 2012 is now available for reading and download on the CRTC website.  

This is copy of the Table of Contents from the Report. The Report also contains a large number of charts and maps addressing some of the areas identified in the Table of Contents.