Old Technology! Get your old, tired technology here.
As one third of Verizon’s landlines might go up for sale the question becomes what will this do for us?
In a move that has more than a few people shaking their head’s in stark disbelief, Verizon has announced that they are “considering” selling off roughly 1/3 of their landlines. This is apparently due to them noticing that these lines are not profitable!
Even with many of the little additional charges added on (as highlighted in this article.) Verizon announced a flat third quarter profit for this year.
So, what’s going on? The short story is that Verizon is losing landlines to the tune of 666,000 business and consumer lines in the third quarter. Let me put that in perspective for you. Verizon lost almost two thirds of a million landlines in three months! All total Verizon currently has roughly 54 million landlines so this number while disturbing isn’t really all that significant while it is still noteworthy.
Where does Verizon see the future? Interestingly enough, wireless and broadband is where they will now put their money. I find this amusing knowing that looking back ten years ago the phone companies weren’t really interested in the net. I also have to wonder how they are planning to compete with less expensive WISP technology especially when the newest generation of cell phones will attempt to locate a WiFi connection for a VoIP call before they will use the cell phone network.
The answer is that the ILECs believe fiber is going to be the choice of the future. I don’t see this as happening based on the age old question, “Where is the money?” If people are not continuing their landline service they can't get DSL because landline service is mandatory in order to get DSL, I don’t see a lot of revenue being generated there.
Even in the most lucrative markets fiber still cost a lot of money to bring to each building. Depending on how you factor it, the return on fiber is enormous as compared to wireless. The maintenance is substantially more expensive and no matter how you cost this out the customer is going to have to absorb this expense.
Once again, it appears that Ma Bell is still suffering from the same old mindset that she has forever been cursed with. Any time anyone constructs a business model there needs to be some notice to the impact the competition will have on the model. Where is the accounting for the erosion of revenue directly due to VoIP and specifically VoIP over wireless? What about the onslaught that BPL deployment will have as the utility companies start to flex their muscle? And what about WISPs? We have always been the great unknown in this equation.
I guess the real question is are we once again financing another great failure with our money? Can this plan the ILECs are now implementing succeed or will we once again be asked to bail them out with tax breaks?
I am beginning to believe that the FCC has a plan to take care of this. It’s called stimulation real competition and if I am right the long-term plan is to make sure there is more than one viable network in place to handle this country’s communications needs. If that is the case, this very well could be the ILECs final attempt to stand on their own feet and succeed.
Based on their century plus history, what chance do I give them? Not too promising. The funny thing is that an industry that was almost unknown five years ago could be the one that displaces them. Of course, you’d expect that from a wireless proponent.
In a move that has more than a few people shaking their head’s in stark disbelief, Verizon has announced that they are “considering” selling off roughly 1/3 of their landlines. This is apparently due to them noticing that these lines are not profitable!
Even with many of the little additional charges added on (as highlighted in this article.) Verizon announced a flat third quarter profit for this year.
So, what’s going on? The short story is that Verizon is losing landlines to the tune of 666,000 business and consumer lines in the third quarter. Let me put that in perspective for you. Verizon lost almost two thirds of a million landlines in three months! All total Verizon currently has roughly 54 million landlines so this number while disturbing isn’t really all that significant while it is still noteworthy.
Where does Verizon see the future? Interestingly enough, wireless and broadband is where they will now put their money. I find this amusing knowing that looking back ten years ago the phone companies weren’t really interested in the net. I also have to wonder how they are planning to compete with less expensive WISP technology especially when the newest generation of cell phones will attempt to locate a WiFi connection for a VoIP call before they will use the cell phone network.
The answer is that the ILECs believe fiber is going to be the choice of the future. I don’t see this as happening based on the age old question, “Where is the money?” If people are not continuing their landline service they can't get DSL because landline service is mandatory in order to get DSL, I don’t see a lot of revenue being generated there.
Even in the most lucrative markets fiber still cost a lot of money to bring to each building. Depending on how you factor it, the return on fiber is enormous as compared to wireless. The maintenance is substantially more expensive and no matter how you cost this out the customer is going to have to absorb this expense.
Once again, it appears that Ma Bell is still suffering from the same old mindset that she has forever been cursed with. Any time anyone constructs a business model there needs to be some notice to the impact the competition will have on the model. Where is the accounting for the erosion of revenue directly due to VoIP and specifically VoIP over wireless? What about the onslaught that BPL deployment will have as the utility companies start to flex their muscle? And what about WISPs? We have always been the great unknown in this equation.
I guess the real question is are we once again financing another great failure with our money? Can this plan the ILECs are now implementing succeed or will we once again be asked to bail them out with tax breaks?
I am beginning to believe that the FCC has a plan to take care of this. It’s called stimulation real competition and if I am right the long-term plan is to make sure there is more than one viable network in place to handle this country’s communications needs. If that is the case, this very well could be the ILECs final attempt to stand on their own feet and succeed.
Based on their century plus history, what chance do I give them? Not too promising. The funny thing is that an industry that was almost unknown five years ago could be the one that displaces them. Of course, you’d expect that from a wireless proponent.
posted by Next Generation Communications at
9:38 AM
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