Talk about timing. The week Congress finally agreed to give the major
US telcos immunity
from lawsuits related to their wiretap involvement, Verizon President and
COO Denny
Strigl in his NXTcomm08 keynote speech says the U.S. telco industry leads the world in
broadband and mobile “in the ways that count.” and that it is "unfairly maligned"
Hmm...The
country had a fiber vision in the early 90s and 15 years later we are
still mostly on copper. Verizon (and other RBOCs) inherited the envy of world's telecom
infrastructure from Ma Bell. It has had a benevolent regulator in the FCC for the last
decade which has been pro-industry, pro-consolidation far more than pro-consumer. Maligned?
But, Denny let's get specific and count the ways as you say that count.
You say we have 100 million broadband connections. Is that using the FCC
definition of broadband as 200 kbps? Or it is as of June 13 when the FCC revised
the definition to a whopping 768 kbps?
You say there is broadband service in every zip code. Is that using the FCC
definition that if one
household has broadband (yes, uno) the whole zip code is considered
"broadband-covered"?
You say three quarters of the US population has at least 2 broadband
providers and some as many as six or seven. Ok, if that means competition why do
US consumers pay so much more than consumers in other countries? See this data
from the OECD which you quote in other parts of your speech.
You say "broadband wireless service...is growing three times faster in the
U.S. than elsewhere, and ignores differences in geography.". Denny, Nokia sells 100 million phones a year in China and India - yes a year - and they have as obscure places as we do in the US. Like Tibet. Want to bet they will have more 3G coverage than us in a few years? BTW - Only 25% of us today have
3G access compared to 75% in Japan and Korea.
You say US wireless consumers "use more minutes, pay lower prices and have
greater choices". Yes, we use more minutes because, unlike in many other
countries, our plans double-count. Incoming and outgoing minutes are both
counted. More choice in the US? You need to go to the UK. Pay lower prices? Cross-border
call rates are capped in the EU. US Consumers pay $ 1 to 4 a minute when we
travel. Consumer Reports has for the last 6 years reported US mobile services one of the worst services its large readership rates across industries.
You say "Unlike other countries, what we have accomplished has come not
through [government] policy but through private investment". Private Investment?
What about the $ 200 billion Cringely
wrote about?. And why are telecoms taxed so heavily in the US compared to other products? If our private telcos are working effectively why do we need $ 40 billion worth of annual taxes to regulate/subsidize the industry?
Back to the immunity. If the telcos did not have a choice in the wiretap
matter - if the Feds mandated them - I can understand the immunity. But it sets
a bad precedent. Now the telcos want one for the lawsuits against them for wireless
early termination fees. And likely next up a call for protection against a
growing number of state
regulators scrutinizing Verizon services.
"Unfairly Maligned"? More like charmed life I would say.
Icahn launches hostile bid for AP
Ok, got your attention.
But did you know Carl now has a blog? And sure enough the battle hardened legal team he has grown over the years does him proud with their "Terms of Use"
I would love to see them duke it out with the AP lawyers as they try to enforce their own "Terms of use"
Winner gets to put a Director on the Yahoo! board :)
June 25, 2008 in Industry Commentary | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)