Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Google Not Dancing to Bell Tune
Says here:
ISP Planet's Alex Goldman writes that this is a Fight the Bells will Lose. If Microsoft and Ebay and Yahoo and Earthlink and all the other content providers stand up with Google, and get their customers to stand with them, he's right.
Google's Barry Schnitt told [Networking Pipeline's Paul Kapustka] in an email: "Google is not discussing sharing of the costs of broadband networks with any carrier. We believe consumers are already paying to support broadband access to the Internet through subscription fees and, as a result, consumers should have the freedom to use this connection without limitations."Hooray for Google!
ISP Planet's Alex Goldman writes that this is a Fight the Bells will Lose. If Microsoft and Ebay and Yahoo and Earthlink and all the other content providers stand up with Google, and get their customers to stand with them, he's right.
Comments:
I saw some data on the importance of certain brands to the 18-29 yr old group (an important consumer group as that is when many lifetime buying patterns are set).
Google, Apple, Dell and Microsoft score high. The telcos and cable companies are extremely low on the scale and are regarded as commodities (older groups value them more).
Bell South, Verizon or AT&T could inflict serious damage to themselves by limiting access to Google, iTunes and other desireables .
It would be even more interesting if this became politicized.
Google, Apple, Dell and Microsoft score high. The telcos and cable companies are extremely low on the scale and are regarded as commodities (older groups value them more).
Bell South, Verizon or AT&T could inflict serious damage to themselves by limiting access to Google, iTunes and other desireables .
It would be even more interesting if this became politicized.
This reminds me of the Associated Press/Western Union situation of the late 1860s, which many argue is the origin of the separation of content and carriage in the US. AP was the largest user of WU services, and could have justified the construction of a competing infrastructure based on their traffic. WU could have created a competing press service to compete with AP. Neither liked the alternative, and agreed to stay out of the others' business, etc. More in my recent book "Shaping American Telecommunications" published recently by Erlbaum.
In my blog (telcom2935.blogspot.com), I have been challenging my students to think about the parallels -- Google is believed to be acquiring dark fiber, and is constructing municipal networks. These are all the elements of a parallel infrastructure. Chances are AT&T (nee SBC) et al will reach an accomodation with Google ... though I can't predict what that will be.
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In my blog (telcom2935.blogspot.com), I have been challenging my students to think about the parallels -- Google is believed to be acquiring dark fiber, and is constructing municipal networks. These are all the elements of a parallel infrastructure. Chances are AT&T (nee SBC) et al will reach an accomodation with Google ... though I can't predict what that will be.
