Metro Vancouver residents will have access to Canada’s fastest residential broadband service next Friday when Novus Entertainment launches its Net 200 tier providing 200Mbps service over a fiber optic network for $279.95CDN per month.  Customers currently paying $179.95 for the company’s 60Mbps plan will also receive a free upgrade to 100Mbps service on that same date.  No word yet on what the new usage limits will be, but Novus previously limited its 60Mbps plan to 360GB per month, unfortunate for a plan that carries such a premium price.  Novus charges 50 cents for each additional gigabyte above their various plan allowances.  Novus’ upload speeds are the same as its advertised download speeds.

Novus Entertainment has wired fiber optic cable in 33,000 large multi-dwelling units in parts of greater Vancouver, providing broadband, telephone, and television competition for incumbent cable provider Shaw Communications.  The two companies were embroiled in a nasty price war last year, with Shaw slashing prices to as low as $10 per month for video, phone, or Internet access.  To date, Novus has 9,000 subscribers, 8,200 of which subscribe to the company’s broadband service.

“We noted a recent survey by Harvard University which found that Canadians’ access to superior broadband performance and infrastructure ranked poorly among developed countries,” said Donna Robertson, Co-President and Chief Legal Officer of Novus Entertainment Inc. “While these results are disappointing, this provided Novus with the opportunity to not only take this challenge head on and provide customers with superior Internet speeds, but to also set us apart from the competition.”

Vancouver is the home of Novus Entertainment

Novus’ Net 200 will be available in selective buildings that are configured for 200 Mbps technology. With the vision of becoming one of Metro Vancouver’s major Internet and communications service providers, Novus continues to expand its service in Vancouver and Burnaby and plans to launch services in Richmond in 2010.

“Canadians want a service provider that delivers a fast Internet connection to meet their growing needs at a reasonable cost,” said Doug Holman, Co-President and Chief Financial Officer of Novus Entertainment Inc. “Yet they’re paying among the highest prices for some of the lowest speeds. Novus’ superior fibre-optic network allows us to provide our customers with best-in-class, reliable and consistent transfer speeds that the incumbents simply can’t offer.”

Shaw probably cannot match Novus’ 200Mbps service tier on their non-fiber optic cable network, but will likely continue to compete heavily on price with discounts that stun Canadians outside of metro Vancouver.  Shaw’s pricing in Novus-wired buildings is as much as $60 less than in other areas where Novus does not compete.

Novus also owns some wireless spectrum covering Alberta and British Columbia, so eventually the provider could mount a competitive challenge in the mobile telephone market, at least in western Canada.  There are rumors the company could partner with an eastern Canadian spectrum holder like Public Mobile, which owns spectrum covering southern Ontario and Quebec.  Neither company has launched service, and probably won’t for the rest of 2010, but could eventually provide additional competition in the overpriced Canadian mobile phone market.

Denver residents are discovering that when Comcast says they’re getting a “free speed upgrade,” what they really mean is that upgrade is going to cost you an additional $2 more per month.

Comcast recently increased broadband speeds in Denver “for free,” but now Mile-High City residents are discovering free comes at a price with Comcast.

The price of renting your cable modem is increasing by $2 a month, which means the majority of Comcast customers locally will now spend $5 per month just for the modem.

Denver, Colorado (Courtesy: Yassie)

Comcast blamed the increase on costs associated with upgrading their network facilities to support DOCSIS 3, the latest cable modem standard which supports vastly faster Internet speeds.

Comcast spokeswoman Cindy Parsons said in a statement that the company continually invests in providing customers with next-generation equipment and technology that delivers advanced Internet services with enhanced capabilities.

“Our costs for this new equipment will increase by 167 percent over the next two years,” Parsons said.

Comcast has been increasing the modem rental price on a city-by-city basis across the country, often after speed upgrades like that completed in Denver which doubled speeds from 6 to 12Mbps late last year.

If just two-thirds of Comcast customers nationwide continue to simply pay the monthly rental fee, the company will earn more than $250 million in annual revenue just on the two dollar rate hike.  Is that enough to pay for service upgrades so we can dispense with talk about Internet Overcharging schemes like usage caps and consumption billing?

Stop the Cap! reminds readers Comcast subscribers can purchase their own cable modem from electronics retailers, often for $100 or less, and never pay a rental fee again.

At $60 a year, customers will more than pay for their modem purchase after less than two years.

Providers have a love-hate relationship with fiber optics.  When confronted with a competitor rebuilding their network to provide fiber to customer homes, many providers lampoon and mock fiber’s capabilities, claiming it’s more light than substance.  But when a provider itself wants to do fiber on the cheap, which means not actually providing true fiber-to-the-home service, they’ll bandy about marketing slogans like “100% fiber optic network” or “advanced fiber network.” Fiber is better, and those who have it want to promote it.  Those that don’t want to pretend they do.

Bell has decided it can deliver truthiness in fiber optic broadband by simply chopping a letter off the end of the word ‘fiber.’

Fibe is a close cousin of AT&T’s U-verse system.  It uses fiber optics part of the way, but relies on the same old copper phone wire that’s hanging on those phone poles in your front or back yard.  Because of the shorter distance of copper involved, Bell can use more advanced VDSL2 technology for a faster connection.

That’s certainly an improvement over Bell’s anemic DSL service, difficult to provide to many Canadians spread across the countryside.  But don’t mistake it for Verizon FiOS, or any other true fiber to the home service.  After learning the details, you won’t mistake it for a great consumer value either.

Fibe offers some urban and suburban Canadians new choices in broadband speed: 6/1Mbps, 12/1Mbps, 18/1Mbps and 25/7Mbps at prices ranging from $31.95-52.95 per month ($5 higher for standalone broadband service).  Prices may be slightly lower in some areas depending on what’s on offer from competitors.

But Bell also brings an uninvited guest to the party: Internet Overcharging usage limits.  They also reserve the right to throttle your speeds lower when using high traffic applications.

Check out the company’s marketing rhetoric next to the limitations:

• “Fibe 6 will light up your online life.” The bulb burns out after 25GB of consumption, and your online life is in the dark until the next billing cycle begins.
• With Fibe 12, “You’re totally cool and connected online.” Unfortunately, after 50GB of usage, -you- are left out in the cold.
• “Digital defines who you are. At any given time, you are networked and on your game.” With Fibe 16, the game is over after using 75GB.  Then you can redefine yourself with a good book for the rest of the month.
• “You’re a master of the digital universe. A power++ online user who blazes through bytes and is always looking for more upload speeds. Nothing less than the awesome power of Fibe 25 will do.” Fibe 25, like Fibe 12, sputters out after 75GB of usage.  Then Bell is the master… of your wallet.  There’s nothing like blazing fast speed that gets a bucket of cold water thrown on it with a usage limit and overlimit penalty.  Nothing else will do… for Bell.

Bell is among the more nervy providers out there.  After creating Internet Overcharging schemes that force customers into low usage allowance plans, the company offers to sell you “usage insurance” to protect you from their own paltry limits!  For an additional $5 per month up front, you get protection from their overlimit penalties for up to 40 additional gigabytes of usage.  Of course, you pay the fee whether exceeding the limit or not.  If you don’t have Overcharging Insurance, look out.  Overlimit penalties start at $1/GB and run to $2 and beyond for some smaller allowance plans.  For now, Bell limits the maximum overlimit penalty to $30 per month, but that can change at any time, as Rogers customers have found out.

Fibe appears to be primarily available in parts of Toronto and the GTA.  Selected customers may also receive a letter offering 50 percent off their IPTV video package for one year.  Expect the service to primarily launch in larger cities.  Living in a rural community in a province like Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba?  Don’t hold your breath waiting for these kinds of services to arrive anytime soon.

[flv width=”640″ height=”405″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Bell Entertainment Overview.flv[/flv]

A Bell-produced overview of their new Fibe IPTV service.  (6 minutes)

While the United States argues over broadband speeds, pricing, and usage limits, a broadband speed war is breaking out in Mexico which could deliver millions of Mexicans better broadband service at lower prices than what providers in the United States and Canada offer many of their customers.

The first shot came from Telmex, owned by media tycoon Carlos Slim.  They announced a more than doubling of their company’s DSL speed from the current 2-4Mbps to more than 10Mbps.

Telmex is Mexico’s leading Internet Service Provider, and typically bundles its broadband service with a calling package.  Telmex currently sells up to 5Mbps service, bundled with a phone line with unlimited local and long distance calling, plus 200 minutes of free calling to the United States, other calling features, free wi-fi access in more than 120,000 locations, and a free wireless modem/router for approximately $78 a month.  New subscribers get a bond worth approximately $39 when they sign up for service.

Televisa’s Cablevision, a cable provider, announced over the weekend it would match Telmex.

“Cablevision will offer this year more than 10Mbps service across Mexico City and surrounding areas at very affordable prices,” Televisa Executive Vice President Alfonso de Angoitia tweeted.

Televisa has been playing catch-up to Telmex, but the cable company’s “triple-play” phone, broadband, and video package has been attracting considerable attention.  The Mexican authorities currently prohibit Telmex from offering video to customers because of market domination fears.

Cablevision standalone pricing for their current 2Mbps service is about $23 a month with a term contract.  Additional discounts are provided for bundled service — $40.33 a month for both broadband and telephone service.

The price war broke out because of anemic growth in the landline telephone business, and the potential revenue expanded broadband service packages could bring Mexican providers.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Mexico Cablevision Telmex Ads.flv[/flv]

A selection of ads from Cablevision and Telmex. (3 minutes)