Fast Net News, DSL Prime, DOCSIS Report

Half of Canadian homes will get fiber all the way home, Glen Campbell of Merrill expects, after Bell Aliant announced they would spend $350M (Canadian) to reach one-third of their territory in the next two years and continue building after that on the 90% of their plant that is not buried. Campbell expects Bell Canada itself (which controls Aliant) and Telus to follow suit, at least in the 50% of their territory that is aerial.

       $650/home (Canadian) is Bell's projected cost, based on their already substantial fiber deployment. Jeff Fan of Scotia Capital researched the projected Bell buildout and discovered most homes were spread out and in very small clusters. That would require far more "node" boxes than the AT&T build and not be dramatically less expensive than full fiber over time.Analysts like the move and the related dividend cut. "S&P confirmed its ‘BBB’ rating for long-term corporate credit and upgraded its outlook from negative to stable," the company reports.

        Fan's comment "FTTH is the only real defence for telcos against cable,” is informed by some remarkable success on the cable side. "Bell Alliant is bleeding market share to rival EastLink," the Globe and Mail reports.