Sunday, March 05, 2006

Hey, telecom execs... hands off my internet!

Some of you already know that companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast are trying to privatize the internet. However, word is not being spread fast enough to start an effective grassroots effort against the telco giants. Join VGRC and Common Cause and spread the word, before it's too late!

Here is the whole Edward Whitacre article in Business week.

"How concerned are you about Internet upstarts like Google (GOOG ), MSN, Vonage, and others?
How do you think they're going to get to customers? Through a broadband pipe. Cable companies have them. We have them. Now what they would like to do is use my pipes free, but I ain't going to let them do that because we have spent this capital and we have to have a return on it. So there's going to have to be some mechanism for these people who use these pipes to pay for the portion they're using. Why should they be allowed to use my pipes?

The Internet can't be free in that sense, because we and the cable companies have made an investment and for a Google or Yahoo! (YHOO ) or Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes [for] free is nuts! "

Business Week Article

Ed is completely off his rocker. Doesn't he understand that EVERYONE already pays for the Internet? I have a Comcast and SBC connection, which in turn peers with many locations. Google has huge Internet pipes they pay for, and also peer with many places, possibly even SBC, Verizon, and more.

I don't understand how they can sit back and complain that people are using "pipes" for free. SBC and others have chosen to peer with other carriers to make sure the whole Internet is reachable everywhere. If all of a sudden I couldn't get to Google or other sites because SBC refuses to peer with others in the community, then I would switch to an ISP who would peer.

Does Ed even understand the Internet? Does Ed even understand his own business? I think not. From my past employment with SBC I clearly understood that the main business of SBC was for hard circuits and fiber. Connecting business, and Internet related services are the last thing they care about. Anything which cuts into the copper and fiber circuits going to homes and businesses will cause a pain point for SBC and other carriers. Therefore, more people use VOIP it will hurt a little.

BUT, everyone has to get broadband. It is the only player out there worth anything. I have fiber to my house, others have DSL or cable. We all need that fast connection, but we ALL pay for it already.

Ed, consider paying more attention to HOW your business is actually run, .vs. the money you keep raking in. Maybe it would open your eyes a bit, and you could actually turn some of that hot air into useful propellant, and give us the service we requested 10 friken years ago.

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