said by Gone:Which is why Bell is not rewiring all homes. They're only doing it when they order a service that requires it. Once you're on fibre that's it. Only when the copper plant degrades to the point of being uneconomical to repair or when scrap revenue exceeds all other costs do you rewire all the customers. That is, unless you're Sasktel, then you rewire everyone right away and rip out the copper when you do.
The cost of copper has already reached that point. It is actually profitable to lay fibre optic cable, rip up the copper, and re-sell the copper. That's why Bell has started doing that in Quebec and Ontario, and why new building developments are getting fibre optic instead of copper.
Right now, Bell would be pretty dumb not to stockpile the copper they're pulling up to use in areas that haven't been upgraded to FTTH (instead of buying new cable), but make no mistake, they've been doing it for years. As for why it's taking Bell longer? There's a slight difference in population between Sasktel's territory and Ontario/Quebec, which translates into a slight difference in the number of households affected....