>> Wrong perspective. They are trying to look "friendly" to consumers, not to us. We're just the purse to pick.
Fair point, I suspect it is more of "lets see if can get away with this without anyone coming after us" after all they are supposed to be looking after the public. >>>I can survive AT&T merging with Bellsouth. >>>I can survive and, in fact, flourish, in the face of behemoth telcos. >>>I can't survive artificially fixed prices below my cost. >>>In the instance above, I know which would hurt me and which would not. I don't know if you realize this, but you made very powerful statements when you began each of the above with an "I". Let me re-phrase... I, as a business owner, can survive any and all of the above, however the fact that "We" as in "ISP's" an industry , defined as, Un-regulated business entities providing Internet Access Connectivity Bandwidth, (primarily arbitrage), are going to be history in the very near future. (Before you start to flame me as a naysayer..... Just stop for a moment, and reflect, we as an un-regulated entities are going to be no more, we are going to have to transform into a fully regulated entity or get out of the last mile access business. So far the 'fight has been on the wireline turf, but don't forget the wireless fight is coming next. Some of you might say, hey we are okay cause we are not in the Metro Area, that may be true or may be not. A lot of you depend upon 1st Tier providers of different services who in term depend upon the Metro Area for their survival...i.e. we are all part of a chain -:)) >>>I'm not really understanding why you think the ISP's are particularly hurt by a merger. Could you explain? This may by a long topic to explain in an email, but lets just say that when your wholesale costs are running more than the consumer retail costs, and your 'inter-connect' providers are the sole decision makers on if they choose to provide you access or not ! Things will look a whole lot different. Anyone who is operating as an ISP, in Metro Area, in the wireline world, will be able to explain things in much more detail. I would also like to point out that with the recent mergers, most of us might not realize that the bulk of US Internet Network 60-75% is now under the direct control of these two entities (ATT & Verizon). .. If you want to get a first hand preview of this, talk to any of the Cellular folks, and ask them as to what they have to do to get T1 or higher bandwidth circuits from the ILEC to their Towers....when they are in a competitors territory.. >>>Build your network to be competitive NO MATTER WHAT anyone else does. Fair statement for the current times, however not sure if that is all of what will be needed when looking into the future. No one can predict, but all the signs of on-coming storm, (regulations, restrictions, and much tougher operating environment) seem to be pretty real. ---------------- That is all for the depressing stuff:- Now for the, ok, so what do we do now ! Re-evaluate business, start thinking Outside the Box. Reduce your ROI formula, 3-5year payback is no longer acceptable, 6m to 18month is more the appropriate range. Build like Hell, and build up the Cash Flow. If it does not help increase the Business Cash Flow, don't do it ! Be ready for a 2nd round of struggles, both with energy and cash. Work together in a much more collaborative mode more than ever. (If two isp's spend $ on buying the same resources individually, then they both loose, vs. buying it once, sharing the resource, and pocketing the savings !). And again Re-evaluate ...... I am sure you can all add more to the list. -:) Faisal Imtiaz SnappyDSL.net -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of wispa Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 9:10 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: RE: [WISPA] Adelstein Blasts White House over Access to Broadband On Thu, 8 Mar 2007 17:30:27 -0500, Faisal Imtiaz wrote > I have a very tough time trying to figure out who is 'friendly' & > 'Sympathetic' to the cause of the ISP's at the FCC. Wrong perspective. They are trying to look "friendly" to consumers, not to us. We're just the purse to pick. > > After watching the 'process' and 'negotiations' which resulted in the > approval of AT&T purchase of BellSouth, I cannot tell who did more 'damage' > to the ISP's , the Republican Commissioners for un-bashfully > supporting THE ILEC's agenda or the Democrat Commissioners who > insisted that the ILEC offer very low cost DSL Service / Naked DSL > service at a very low cost only to the consumers for at least a 2 year > period ! I can survive AT&T merging with Bellsouth. I can survive and, in fact, flourish, in the face of behemoth telcos. I can't survive artificially fixed prices below my cost. In the instance above, I know which would hurt me and which would not. > > ----> > My take so far is that the Republican Commissioners are hell bent on > 'shooting' the ISP's and the Democrat Commissioners are following > behind to make sure that the ISP Coffins are double nailed shut, just > incase the ISP's reincarnate. I'm not really understanding why you think the ISP's are particularly hurt by a merger. Could you explain? > > Yes, very scary ! Very very scary !. > > Watching these guys operate, it is getting harder and harder to > believe their line "ah, we did not have any intentions to hurt you in > the process, we were just trying to fix things". Heh, well... I had to bring up the R word, but Limbaugh says that "any government fix is never a solution, just the creation of new problems". I tend to agree, since we rarely anticipate the reactions to restrictions, taxes, or legislation. Build your network to be competitive NO MATTER WHAT anyone else does. Stay out of debt, treat your customers like the are the lifeblood they are, and you'll do ok. > > Faisal Imtiaz > -------------------------------------------- Mark Koskenmaki <> Neofast, Inc Broadband for the Walla Walla Valley and Blue Mountains 541-969-8200 -- WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
