[Ti] Microsnot + Bell = Canada's new monopoly [OT]

[b]

John Griffin paused, thought it over, and spoke thusly:

>I fail to understand how this got through to the hearing stage with CRTC.
>Perhaps we are not as attuned to the evils of monopolies as are Americans.
>If we were, I doubt such a proposal would have ever got off the ground.
>
>jg

Voice Over IP, using Cable, is the way to go. It's all monopolies, 
whether local, or national. Here, and in Canada.

I can use Timewarner Cable, the only Cable in my area, and just get 
the internet connection, no TV, and use earthlink as my Internet 
provider, Vonage (or Earthlink's Vonage portal) for telephone 
service. Very fast, more stable than the phone, or dsl.


Vonage has local numbering in Canada now. (I added a 'Montreal' 
number for $4.95 a month last week).

Canada is a huge country, in terms of land mass, and rather far-flung 
pockets of inhabitants. At one time it made sense to give Bell the 
'franchise'. Their investment, in 'wiring' the whole country, was 
substantial. As well, they used Northern Electric --Northern telecom 
--> Nortel, as the 'original' Bell Labs. Without them, there might 
not be Unix (actually 'might not' is putting it stupidly), or an 
Internet, to say nothing of every major advance in audio/telecom, and 
even a lot of ground-breaking transistor technology, today.

Some form of 'monopoly' is actually helthy, in part of the 
'life-cycle'. Of nations. For instance, many of the same folks who 
rail against MS, or Bell, or the old ATT, or IBM (once upon a time), 
will shout 'hip hip hooray' when Chile (for example) 'nationalizes' 
their copper industry. And for good reason.

I wouldn't equate the genesis of canada's amazing 
coast-to-coast-to-coast communications system and microsoft's 
monopoly based on malicious usage of proprietary formats, unfair 
competition, extortionist distribution practices, 'bundling', and 
general war on innovation (buying up small companies and closing them 
down, etc).

Not exactly Apples and Oranges, perhaps, but, bear in mind, it's the 
people and their politicians who allow or encourage the whole mess, 
anyway. Microsoft keeps 'getting away with it', for one simple 
reason: Because they can.

~flipper