Monday, July 12, 2004
Blinded by hatred?
One of my correspondents forwarded this email, which reads in part:
Recently Chris Worth wrote:
My own cautious optimism is tempered by the knowledge that BT would need to cripple the new network it is installing if it is to preserve itself in anything like its present form. Alternatively it could install a big fat stupid network and cripple itself.
This is not hatred. It is a sad but eyes-wide-open exercise in examining multiple alternatives.
Isenberg . . . *hates* the telcos - too bad. He, like a lot of other people who hate the telcos - or anything, for that matter - are blinded by their hate, and closed to any alternative that in any way smacks of including the target of their hatred in any scenario, even if they (the ones who hate) stand to gain from it.I take strong exception! Sadly, I love the telcos. Bell Labs is my alma mater . . . I learned so much there and made many friends. I take no joy from watching them fail. It is like watching an ageing parent deteriorate. If somebody suggests that parent might play tennis or go for a swim my response is, "Get a grip. This person will never play tennis or swim again."
Recently Chris Worth wrote:
Well, they've finally done it: Britain's Bell, British Telecom, has announced an £8bn (at least) plan to basically dump its entire circuit-switched cage over the next five years and go with IP over the entire network.Here's a link to a story about this BT initiative.
As a BT customer both home and biz, I'm fairly pleased with the way this former monopoly has turned out. As a kid I remember my parents waiting two months to get a line; now, I order 1Mbit broadband at my new house and it's operational three days BEFORE they said it would be.
Admittedly I'm not out in the sticks ('boonies') - I can see Canary Wharf from my bedroom window - but it's good service nonetheless. I cautiously support these Bellheads as they reform.
My own cautious optimism is tempered by the knowledge that BT would need to cripple the new network it is installing if it is to preserve itself in anything like its present form. Alternatively it could install a big fat stupid network and cripple itself.
This is not hatred. It is a sad but eyes-wide-open exercise in examining multiple alternatives.
Comments:
David,
Just so I am clear, so the eWeek piece on the AT&T move to do aggressive VOIP pricing (http://www.eweek.com/print_article/0,1761,a=130782,00.asp) is just a last gasp "circling the drain move"? The stuff about "all these fliers and TV ads", brand awareness, and cost of customer acquisition - irrelevant? School me here David, exactly when was the law of gravity repealed? Do traditional business rules nolonger apply?
-Douglass Turner
voice/sms: +354 895 5077
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Just so I am clear, so the eWeek piece on the AT&T move to do aggressive VOIP pricing (http://www.eweek.com/print_article/0,1761,a=130782,00.asp) is just a last gasp "circling the drain move"? The stuff about "all these fliers and TV ads", brand awareness, and cost of customer acquisition - irrelevant? School me here David, exactly when was the law of gravity repealed? Do traditional business rules nolonger apply?
-Douglass Turner
voice/sms: +354 895 5077
