NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

With the Internet now flourishing into something we all know it can be, and other services now becoming more common over the internet such as:

* VOIP
* Video/TV Over Broadband

Is NTL just going to sit back and watch us drop there TV/Phone service and pummel its broadband service for all its worth as we use it for phone calls and wathching broadcast quality TV? Its only a matter of time before TV broadcasters and Freeview channels negotiate to be allowed to broadcast there channels over broadband at a reduced cost than what you can subscribe to on NTL. Example... E4 have plans to go COMPLETELY Freeview by 2006/2007 and they decide to also broadcast over broadband to registered users in the UK ONLY (Allowing for carriage contracts with their content providers of course). This can be done in the same way as ONLY UK Broadband residents can access the BBC Broadband service.

ReagrdingVOIP, the quality is VERY good and as a Vonage user, I see no reason why I need to use my NTL line again... aprt from when NTL broadband goes down :mad:

Is it safe to rule out any "Under-hand" tactics in the future by NTL as more and more of us use IP based services or will they decide to take the difficult route and simply try to COMPETE (I doubt it).

Also (without turning this into a capping thread) are they allready limiting what services we use by introducing a cap in the first place ??????? 1gb a day? If we watch 5 hours of broadcast quality TV over broadband... Isnt that a big chunk of that allowance used up... Ignoring data used for VOIP calls, although these are minimal. Im sure if we were to use NTL's TV streaming, the data used would be waived.

I am a WWE fan and watch their monthly PPV's online which cost $35 a pop as I can watch them again from any broadband connected PC and also get quiet a few other "classic" matches which equates to about 10 hours of TV a month if I watch it more than once, maybe 2/3 times if freinds come around or if its a good PPV. Its broadcast at 600k and will be increased soon making it near broadcast quality.

Is this anti-competitive behaviour seeing as NTL have an interest in the IP services we use as it is taking money out of their own pockets.... as they themselves are a Telco and TV provider DESPITE THE FACT WE ARE ALLREADY PAYING FOR THE SERVICE TO USE AS WE PLEASE.

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

Interesting post. :erm:

Can you post a link to all those HD broadcast quality TV streams that I seem to be missing out on?

I don't think that Sky will be rushing to stream their channels cheaply over the internet as they would lose far, far more with the size of their customer base than NTL would.

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

Ok, No HD TV content is available at present, but seeing as MS have allready started HD streaming trials, and have been doing for a while AND seeing a Near broadcast quality is allready available ala the PPV's I watch online its only a matter of time before HDTV content becomes available.

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

This is always the sort of post that amuses me.

The central plank of the post appears to be that Sky are lovely fluffy people who are so dedicated to giving the best possible service to their customers that they would actually destroy their entire business model by allowing customers to stream their TV service on the cheap, whilst ntl are an evil conglomerate that has whole committees in place to work out new ways of ripping people off.

Anyone who seriously thinks Sky's only motivation in anything they do is to to improve things for customers at the expense of their own profits needs to move into a mental asylum ASAP. Sky are out to make money, and as much of it as possible, just like any other company.

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

Post like that amuse me, picking up on mistakes and ignoring the relevant details.

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

What relevant details?

The relevant details are that all those very high bandwidth uses such as broadcast quality HDTV streaming that some are saying you won't be able to do on NTL are in the future, not now.

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

Well Said.

Ive edited my post so people understand the "Relevant Details" and do not get side tracked by the minor irrelevances.

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

Interesting questions raised here. IMHO if ntl were to launch a true TV over IP service I don't see its bandwidth being included in any Internet bandwidth used over your cable modem.

The most likely scenario is that such a service would be played out from dedicated TV servers to an IP STB which most folks would have plugged into their TVs. That being the case the only thing that the two services would have in common would be the network they travel to the customer on. Each would continue to be separate items on your bill.

The problem might come in when you decide to use a third party supplier through your ntl cable modem, then the bandwidth used could as suggested take up a large portion of your allowance.

I would imagine though that all sorts of deals would be done with such third parties similar to the one ntl currently have with AOL where you use an AOL branded cable modem on the ntl network.

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

Please forgive my total ignorance, but where have I picked up on mistakes? Other than the entire post, which is a fanciful piece of far fetched conspiracy-theorist nonsense.

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

And do AOL have any caps ? Nope....and with their advertising currently they dont ever intend to, otherwise the backlash would be immense..

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

Ive edited my post as people were getting confused by the HDTV comment.

Yes, I am thinking ahead and maybe a little "Out The Box" but I feel this is an issue which will be discussed in great detail in the not so distant future. Im not taking sides with ANYONE or picking on ANYONE for you NTL "Fanboys", Im simply referring to my concerns regarding the ISP who I pay my monthly line rental to.

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

You totally missed the point of the post, you picked up on 1 mention of Sky which had no relation to the point he was making. But I'm not going to argue that and take this thread :notopic:

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

Correct. :)

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

Please don't call me an ntl fanboy, because I am not, whatever one of those is. I'm afraid those who can only see the company as bad will need to accept that, just as it is wrong to claim the company is alright good and right, it is equally wrong to claim it is always bad and evil.
Your post starts from a position of assumption that ntl have decided to take advantage of a possible situation with VOIP and have decided to use this to fleece their customers. This is total speculation and is entirely improbable, in actual fact.

Is there a good reason why BT wouldn't act in a similar way in relation to their telephony and broadband products? Or are they as saintly as Sky appear to be viewd by some on this site.

ALL companies exist to make money, and ALL companies will do whatever the market forces will permit them to do in order to achieve that.

Any company who claims they are only in business to benefit the customer is lying, and anyone who believes them is naive.

Don't blame the companies, blame the capitalist system in which we live, and also the government of the day for permitting the action concerned.

Re: NTL's Conflict Of Interests With Other IP Based Services - ANTI COMPETITIVE ?
 

Thinking ahead is a rather dangerous game in the progress of broadband in the UK. Think how things have changed in the past 6 to 12 months. You have to think about the technological capabilities of the various systems, the cost and timescales involved in moving forward and the marketing necessity of moving forward.

If NTL do provide the new speeds in mid March then they will be offering a service at a speed and price that most ADSL customers cannot find an ISP who can match. Yes, IF BT trails are successful then more ADSL customers may be able to get faster speeds in the Autumn but who knows what NTL may be able to offer then?