Allen, that was a very interesting premise you presented. However, it assumes that the bigger companies, namely the incumbent LECs (and even some of the larger CLECs), are lacking in the kinds of capacity that the new entrants present.
That, in many cases, is not the case. Especially in the cherry picking markets that the new entrants penetrate almost exclusively. In those situations the RBOCs have plenty of glass in the ground. What they do not have (or haven't figured out yet) is the means of deploying it under the new bandwidth economic model that the LVLT's MFNX's and the other Fiber Barons are poised to demonstrate in short order.
What they need is an infusion of philosophy and new marketing savvy at some point, prior to the markets changing significantly, and not necessarily an infusion of additional transmission capacity. They've already got plenty of that. More than they know what to do with, apparently.
The ILECs are still motivated to conserve on bandwidth, i.e., restricting its supply, thereby maintaining a pricing structure that has worked very well for them up until now. And, as dominant carriers in the markets they serve, I would hasten to add that they are still bound by an obligation to offer services of the traditional genre that are still universally accessible by rudimentary telephone instruments, and ones that do not necessarily lend themselves to leading edge IP based services.
In this respect, and it's ironic if you think about it, they have been burdened with continuing to support the devices of their own strategy. Namely, POTS.
Regards, Frank C. |
