Looking into my crystal 'bawl'....
....can't see anything for the moment, the future looks too cloudy.
Since my predictions of which direction Qwest will go have been bombing out, I'll go back to asking dumb questions.
A couple of things I don't quite understand:
I'm OK with this part about the Baby Bells not providing long distance service until they open up their local markets for competition.
I don't quite understand the Baby Bells merging together. Won't this eventually result in AT&T - Part II?
How does BellSouth think they can buy Qwest, when, by law, a Baby Bell can't buy a long distance provider?
How can Qwest buy a Baby Bell, when a Baby Bell can't buy Qwest? If this is true, couldn't the LD players buy the Baby Bells?
Qwest is a long distance provider, behind T, WCOM, and ??? If so, how can they be sued and prevented from providing LD service for any of the Baby Bells? What's wrong with getting a Baby Bell to help you solicit new customers?
Why not just aggressively go after their competitor's customers? As soon as the network is finished, profits will go up since the costs of building the network will disappear. Blitz the country with phone calls and ads offering .075/minute 24/7? Can the other LD players match this rate and be profitable?
Why not just wait a few years, and when the Internet keeps expanding, capture a larger share of the LD market as their competitors can't match the bandwidth? Or, lease some of the lines to the competition and split their profits?
Qwest is building fiber networks in major cities. Getting closer to the home. Add in some wireless communications and can't you circumvent the traditional telcos altogether?
Why not just work through ISPs, offer free long distance phone calls, and watch the other LD companies flinch and twitch in the wind? |
