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Village broadband

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  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    Your question was asked in Legco and the governments reply below
    LCQ19: Broadband Internet access services
    Thanks, that's closest someone has actually tried to answer my original query.

    PS to everyone else I know it is an absolute minefield to do any works in a village due to the stupid landownership mentality AND PCCW being a bunch of twats. I was merely remarking that villages on account that in the UK they are due to get FTTC by end of 2017. Obviously, HK is the very opposite of a "socialist" state so I guess we can't rely on government to help get superfast broadband to fringes.
    Last edited by dcwt2010; 05-01-2015 at 11:56 AM.

  2. #12

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    Key difference is UK and HK

    If you want government subsidies and investment in high speed lines then who is going to pay for it?

    Yes you the taxpayer.


  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by jimbo:
    Key difference is UK and HK

    If you want government subsidies and investment in high speed lines then who is going to pay for it?

    Yes you the taxpayer.
    Fair points. I just happen to think that broadband is fast becoming a public utility as it has permeated many aspects of our life.
    As I said though, I know that reality means I must wait till the high profit margin areas are saturated in fibre services which means it is worthwhile for PCCW to turn to the villages. It could be next year, or it could be ten years' time. I just wanted an indicator.

  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by jimbo:
    Key difference is UK and HK

    If you want government subsidies and investment in high speed lines then who is going to pay for it?

    Yes you the taxpayer.
    That does seem quite correct.

    Haven't the UK just passed laws to socialise the cost broadband access in the same way that health care provision and snail mail should have standard levels of cost/service even though urban areas could offer them at much lower rates. An enforced additional levy to ensure companies invest in ALL areas not just the easy pickings leaving the rural poor relatively poorer.

    Hasn't Malaysia has passed a similar law that requires all restaurants to offer some level of access to broadband effectively socialising the cost.

    Hong Kong could pass a similar law to ensure society pays for fair and equal access to a high speed broadband. A few dollars on everyones bill but not a taxman in sight.

  5. #15

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    I just looked up and realised that various companies had been using FTTC or VDSL2 in the past in HK which would solve the village fibre issue; even if VDSL2 only goes up to 100-200Mbs then it will still be more than ten times faster than ADSL 8Mbs but they wouldn't have to shove fibre into every house.
    In fact, with all villages being so densely packed it would only require an upgrade to one exchange to get the service to each respective village (unless they're really remote).
    I should stop dreaming, as PCCW are a monopoly with no real government oversight they can continue to do or not do in this case...anything.


  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by dcwt2010:
    Fair points. I just happen to think that broadband is fast becoming a public utility as it has permeated many aspects of our life.
    As I said though, I know that reality means I must wait till the high profit margin areas are saturated in fibre services which means it is worthwhile for PCCW to turn to the villages. It could be next year, or it could be ten years' time. I just wanted an indicator.
    I agree that broadband is now an "essential" of life; however I'm also on the "slow" PCCW connection and don't find any material difference in how it performs vs the 200MB high speed link we have in our office. Perhaps I have to wait a second or two longer for a page to load; a few minutes longer for a "large file" to download... nothing that actually changes how I behave. Until there is a step change in either speed or what can be done with it, it's hard to see the economic imperative to get faster than 8MB to every individual.

  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by HK_Katherine:
    I agree that broadband is now an "essential" of life; however I'm also on the "slow" PCCW connection and don't find any material difference in how it performs vs the 200MB high speed link we have in our office. Perhaps I have to wait a second or two longer for a page to load; a few minutes longer for a "large file" to download... nothing that actually changes how I behave. Until there is a step change in either speed or what can be done with it, it's hard to see the economic imperative to get faster than 8MB to every individual.
    Katherine, it would appear that you don't use enough bandwidth to understand the need. But then everyone's need is different; that's why there are so many different ranges of cars, phones, handbags. Just because you don't understand why something is needed doesn't mean it has no worth.
    I'll give you an example; if you used a streaming service like Netflix then you'll want at least 5Mbs or higher to get good HD stream. Imagine if there are 3 people in the house and 2 people are streaming with one playing online games. I can tell you that on a PCCW 8Mbs line it will be a lag fest for the gamer (unplayable) and very choppy/low quality stream for the media watchers.
    If you were into business, you'll find out that your 8Mbs line can only upload at around 500kbs which is actually 62.5KBs. Imagine if you had a file which was 50MB (a presentation with lots of images) would take 13 minutes to upload if uncompressed.
    Now imagine you had a 500MB video file (which is just a few tens of minutes if filmed in HD), that would take around 2 hours to upload. Upload rate is greatly increased in fibre; more than 100 fold.

    With 4K streaming being released soon (which requires min 15Mbs) we're going to see fibre lines utilised to its potential.
    Last edited by dcwt2010; 06-01-2015 at 10:00 PM. Reason: typo

  8. #18

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    If you want fast broadband then don't live out in the sticks.
    Simple

    HK_Katherine likes this.

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by jimbo:
    If you want fast broadband then don't live out in the sticks.
    Simple
    BUT its more fun in the sticks

  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by jimbo:
    If you want fast broadband then don't live out in the sticks.
    Simple
    But it isn't out in the sticks, that's my point. It is on 5 mins walk from a West Rail station. Heck it almost joined up to the tower block residences now. In my mind out in the sticks equates to a village which doesn't have access to major roads or trains.

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