I was in Boston earlier this week, attending Ericsson’s annual analyst forum. Over the coming days, I’ll provide some thoughts arising from those sessions.

One of the more interesting discussions I had was looking at the use of HSPA to deliver residential broadband. Mobile broadband technology being used for fixed applications and not just for under developed economies.

For example, among countries with existing advanced telecom infrastructure, Ericsson is citing experience with incumbent telco KPN in the Netherlands and Hutchison’s 3 in Sweden, that have enjoyed substantial levels of market success with their mobile broadband technology used for fixed applications.

Both countries have witnessed strong consumer demand for broadband extending beyond the reach of traditional fixed-line DSL. For the non-ILEC, wireless allows the service provider to avoid out-payments for ILEC unbundled network elements, delivering residential voice and high-speed internet to complement the mobile service revenues.

Further, Ericsson claims that provisioning HSPA is simpler, resulting in lower capital expenditures and ongoing operating expense than the network operations traditional fixed line broadband solutions.

Will Canada’s new entrant carriers go after a fixed broadband market? Such service bundles, competing with incumbent DSL and cable modem service, may significantly enhance their business plans and help accelerate network build-outs.

Monday was a clean-up the files day for the CRTC, issuing three regulatory policy decisions: on maintaining the requirement for international licenses, getting rid of the registration process for sharing groups and maintaining various obligations for CLEC’s and municipal 9-1-1 bureaus.

In each case, the Commission focussed on whether market forces could replace the regulatory burden.

In respect of international licensing, it came down to whether filing an affidavit once every 10 years was particularly onerous, balanced against the ability to guard against anti-competitive conduct.

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CRTC, regulatory policy

According to a media release on Sunday, the FCC tested white space detection devices during Friday’s Buffalo versus Washington football game.

According to Shure Inc, one of the world’s leading microphone suppliers, the test failed to “consistently identify operating wireless microphones or distinguish occupied from unoccupied TV channels.”

The FCC’s tests of prototype white space devices at FedEx field prior to Saturday’s game between the Redskins and the Bills conclusively show that spectrum sensing white space devices will cause harmful interference to wireless microphones during live events.

As I wrote last October, there has been a coalition of technology companies driving the discussion of white space technology in the US including Microsoft, Google, Dell, HP and Intel. Their objective is to get FCC approval for a generic device that will detect unused spectrum to be made available for broadband internet.

We’ll continue watching this issue.

The CRTC issued joint decisions on Friday, out of the Telecom and Broadcast groups dealing with Shaw’s complaint about obtaining access to several buildings in the Cooper’s Quay development. The decision is issued under Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-69 and Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-166.

At issue was Shaw’s inability to reach a building access agreement during the construction phase with Concord Pacific, the property developer. Shaw argued that Novus, a facilities-based service provider related to the developer, had received undue preference in gaining access to the buildings.

Interestingly, TELUS indicated that it was able to secure access to the site, although the record indicates that Novus does not yet offer competing local phone service.

The Commission found that merely receiving a benefit from undue preference is not a violation of the Telecom Act:

Based on the record of this proceeding, the Commission finds that even if Novus has benefited from an undue preference given to it by Concord, Novus did not act in violation of subsection 27(2) of the Act by merely receiving such benefit.

Contrast the Commission’s findings with what it said last year, in a decision coincidentally numbered 2007-69.

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CRTC, Shaw, Novus

Vonage released its quarterly results yesterday, beating Wall Street estimates, but adding only 2,000 customers in the quarter, on a base of 2.6 million – less than .1% growth.

Vonage began scaling back marketing expenses a year ago. As recently as the first quarter of 2007, it had added 166,000 customers in a quarter. Two years ago, it reported net additions of more than a quarter million in 2Q06.

What does this mean for VoIP as a category? Do customers buy VoIP or are they buying services built with VoIP?

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Vonage