Thursday 20 June 2019

Open letter to Councillor Renwick

My blog title goes back to the community solar garden there is a connection Nelson hydro customers fund that feelgood political greenwashing failure and they also been involved with NelsonFiber funding.


Re: city council  presentation (starts about 1:42) for Nelson Fiber bylaw to reduce rates to be more competitive. Council will receive new bylaw rate request June 24th.

Good day  Councillor Renwick:

I would like to offer some information re: Nelson Fibre rate reduction,to help council make good decisions, what the CAO and NF manager presented is anything but
the best information to benefit the taxpayers.


The city is biting the hand that feeds it, Telus and Shawcable pay to be on the city hydro poles, why
interfere and use public money to compete with real business?



                         Above is a Nelson hydro pole with Telus, Shaw and NF fibre.

Nelsonfibre is dark fibre, like waterpipe with no water, you have no TV, internet etc., you only
sell the pipe, the income is in the product over the long term. Your pipe is redundant.  In fact
you are just resellers of what Telus and Shaw already have, why introduce another cost into
the picture?

The NF manager stated they are in discussion with Telus and Shaw, for what? Telus and Shaw
above have the product, internet, TV, etc., They need to pay your pole rental and bring their shareholders a profit. NF is a taxpayer funded pretend business with no customers or future.

Why does NF have NO residential customers?  Its been around for years. UNAFFORDABLE

NF residential rate  $500 min install, $250 admin fee  $100/mo for city darkfibre.
Then the customer must get their own equipment and an internet and or TV service plan.

NF business rate as above and  $150/mo to the city.

I have an invoice for the Retreat Guru business for NelsonFiber.  I believe councillor
Logtenberg rents a desk there, maybe he can bring council the latest information.

The retreat Guru invoice I show paid $2291 for install, (basic $500 or costs)
$250 one time admin fee, $150/mo to the city for darkfiber.

Then they have to buy their own equipment and an internet service plan.

Telus has 1GB Business unlimited data, free install, modem etc. for $170/mo.
Shaw although slower  $139.95/mo business, free install, modem and free Shaw Go Wifi
Hotspot.
Is the Retreat Guru still an NF customer?  Will they be when Telusfiber is available
with free install, modem attractive competitive pricing we haven't seen yet.  When Telus
PureFibre went into Creston recently the promo was $49.95/mo for the first 6 months, free
install, modem, etc.

THIS IS THE IMPORTANT MESSAGE COUNCILLOR!!!!!!!!!!

When we met the other day briefly you heard my friend relate the story his wife was
solicited by Telus and she wasn't interested initially, they sweetened the deal until it
was $40/mo for 2 years.  She called Shaw to cancel they offered $38 she told them to take
a hike she had been paying them for decades, recently over $80/mo. 

When TelusPureFiber is all over the city, Shaw cable already is, they share the total city
customer business, they will price compete as above to retain market.

What will NF who have NO residential customers expect to achieve.

NF has no TV or internet, only the fiber, its Shaw or Telus who provide the value.

The city rates now $100/mo for residential(no customers) or other gov;'t.  $150/mo
for business for darkfibre, like water pipe with no water,

How will NF compete?  Why would you parallel their fiber and then expect to put their
product in it to make a profit?  Ludicrous. Absurd!


Secondly NF has no penetration, they exist in a tiny percent of the city, how many potential
customers even if you were able to get all on your availability?  See map for Fairview below!

NF doesn't have the market penetration, below in green, NF in Fairview, hardly available anywhere, Shawcable is everywhere and Telus fibre soon will be.

Will NF give me a quote for 800 block 5th st?  It would cost $50,000 to bring fiber over to me.

The last council meeting re NelsonFibre was painful to listen to. Beginning
around 1:42 .

How can the CAO and NF manager appear before council and give you their salespitch
for NF with a straight face?


The city says its saving $100,000/yr with NF. With about 4 locations(firehall, library, city hall and works yard)

The Mgr is $97K/yr, with two full time IT techs, with holidays and benefits likely $250,000/yr.

NelsonFiber income  $100/mo from schools and other gov't connections and $150 from
business.  They still need an internet plan.

The city says NF is self sustaining

Believable?  I don't believe anything from this city anymore.

Someone who knows more than I suggests NF equipments and fiber cost over $2M.

Real business costs borrowed money 3.5% interest over 25 years another $10,000/mo.

 Where are the revenue expense financials for NF?  Can't be found. 

At the last council meeting presentation from CAO and NF mgr only mayor had a question, he said to the NF mgr “would we be having this conversation if Telus wasn't coming to town?” Her reply


YES we have been planning this for a long time this has created faster action.  Might this have something to do
with keeping her $97,000/yr income?


What was the CAO doing trying to sell council NF? he should be saying NF is a failure, bankrupt we should stop funding it.






The NF mgr. Goes on to say CBBC(Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation) is a strategic partner? How? More public CBT grant money?

So where are the questions from the rest of council?  Like deer in the headlights, rubber stamping
the CAO incompetence.  How about it councillors, ask some questions.


The CAO talks about multi unit buildings sharing a strand. Present NF pricing two sharing
$100/ea/mo. For darkfibre than they have to get equipment and a plan.
For a landlord/building owner with 5 sharing, down to $40/mo. What landlord would put this together, no need to create a bonus to attract renters, there aren't any vacancies.

The commons has fiber, not one residential customer. Just how many multi unit bldgs exist where
NF is available anyways?


ITS TIME THIS CITY MADE BUSINESS DECISIONS, NELSONFIBRE WOULD HAVE
BEEN A BANKRUPT BUSINESS LONG AGO, DON'T DISRESPECT THE TAXPAYER AND SEND ANOTHER NICKEL INTO THIS HOLE OF STUPIDITY.

I predicted this in 2016.




Nelson hydro does NF work, how about the  $90,000 taken from a city reserve fund to pay for the NF  reno in city hall, or the  $20,000 security door?

The Community Charter says reserve funds must be spent for the purpose created, any other
use must be repaid with interest, how will NF repay this?

Will schools continue as NF customers? The Ministry of Ed. Contracts to Telus for their NextGen Network (high speed fiber) in the rest of the province. Is NF the carrier of this product here? Now with Telusfibre at every school why would they stay with NF?


Will NF retain their other government customers?  
NF is a stranded asset (liability?) no future, no reason to exist.

NelsonFiber is a stranded asset, an unfortunate waste of public grant and taxpayers money.

NF makes the solar garden waste look like a walk in the park.

Will they keep paying the NF manager and staff with nothing to do?

June 24th lets see what the CAO and NF manager bring to city council for their 
new competitive rate bylaw.   NF would have been bankrupt long ago if it was
a real business.


Norm Yanke
Nelson

PS the above example $40/mo for 2year contract was not fibre but conventional internet
speeds, all that most need, something supports emails and NetFlix video and YouTube.

Also when you are a reseller of internet who will your customer call when there is a problem
will NF have a hotline, support?   Will DHC who have gotten rich over NF be sending
bills to the city for all the trouble calls?  Telus and Shaw absorb this from their profits.
 Another reason NF has no reason to exist.
Even now schools have their own IT people, are city IT people servicing their business clients
Somewhere between 30 and 50 since the info is unavailable.   NF is done, over, finished
bankrupt don't waste another nickel.

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