On July 5, Bell announced its Optimax internet service, offering download speeds of 10-16 Mbps (see Jon Arnold’s comments). Now Videotron has raised the stakes even higher, giving subscribers to its Extreme Plus High-Speed Internet 20 Mbps service. As the Quebecor press release says: “Videotron still the fastest. Period.”

Through the weekend, Mark Evans wrote about HDTV: Hot or Not? I suspect that increased HDTV penetration is one of the strategic objectives of the cable industry.

Telco IP TV has limitations on the number of HD channels that can be carried over its broadband connections. The sooner that people buy multiple HD screens for their homes, the more difficult it will be for the phone companies to control a household bundle that includes traditional broadcast distribution.

There is a disruptive approach needed – we think the phone companies need to change the rules of the game. We’ll have some more thoughts on this over time. And later this week, we’ll look at a colleague who specializes in disruption.

Stay tuned!

We have written before about how some companies are able to profitably identify niche opportunities in telecom and offer service to their customers.

Telehop, the company behind the $1 per call 10-10-620 service and the discount dial-around by-the-minute service 10-10-100, has announced advertiser-supported, free directory assistance.

Initial advertising partners include Toronto Honda and Omni TV.

According to Telehop President Ruth Bartholomeusz,

The service works very much like normal directory assistance. Callers dial 10-10-620-0 or 10-10-100-0 and go through an automated system that will play an advertising message before they are asked for the location, type of listing and listing name.

Telehop (TSX-Venture: HOP) seems to be successful at identifying niche opportunities and offering value to customers, operating with no debt and growing steadily.

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There is a Public Notice out from the CRTC, looking at whether to remove some of the final regulations that are still imposed on Bell, TELUS and the incumbents for long distance services.

Regulation on the major phone companies have been largely forborne since 1997, but there are a few little items that seem anachronistic in today’s competitive reality: maintaining a basic rate schedule for toll; prohibit route de-averaging on these rates; provide advance notice of changes in these rates; make these rates available for any customer requesting them; etc.

Does it matter? We can think of a few reasons that it does, including ways that residential consumers can subscribe to basic rates in order to save (that’s right, save) the so-called ‘network access’ fee.

And besides, if there is no longer a list price, how will we know what percentage the savings are for other price plans?

My daughter has been studying overseas for the past year and will be returning to Canada in about a week. She has a cel phone in one of the world’s most competitive markets for mobile service, with 5 carriers driving penetration in excess of 100%.

When she phones home, it costs 10 cents (US) per minute, including the airtime. When we call her, we use 10-10-100 (Telehop) and pay 5 cents (Canadian) per minute. She pays nothing to receive the call.

I found it surprising to open my Canadian cel phone bill this week to learn that my Canadian and US long distance rates will be increasing to 30 cents per minute, effective September 1, unless I want to buy a long distance bundle of minutes. Excess minutes are at the extorionary rates in any case.

The going rate for North American wireline consumer long distance is 4-5 cents per minute. And cel companies find that 5-6 times that amount isn’t enough. On top of the airtime.

It is no wonder that the CRTC plans to look at the issue of wireless equal access next year.