I just listened to Joe Kernan's confusion, scratching his head, over the trading of bandwidth by energy companies. The clip reminded me of the other message I sent you in this space a couple of days ago:
Message 15078064
If bandwidth is only a euphemism, or an "expression," for hard physical network assets (transmission systems) that oscillate at the speed of light, then trading bandwidth really amounts to spot leases of, or reservations to lease, or the "rights" to reserve or momentarily own, those hard transmission assets _or_ time-slotted fractions of those assets, thereof. What else could it be? After all, you can't lease, much less use, a euphemism. You must go after the real thing, even if it is anonymous, or hidden from view, as it invariably is.
Now, to dynamically connect those [most often, hidden] transmission assets so that they connect to the right types of end-user assets (read: compatible standards used by both the provider whose facilities are being leased, and the end user, alike) at both the originating and terminating locations in order to meet momentary or longer term needs... on cue... this remains the nut that must be cracked.
Some traders claim to have gotten around this gap, by maintaining bandwidth pooling sites (that's where a bunch of euphemisms gather), and putting in place "distribution networks" to their most-favored customers to accommodate this set of, for the most part, transient needs.
But this makes them carriers, not traders, per se, when they have to resort to such measures, if they have to produce, as well as distribute and broker said "bandwidth producing assets," and deliver "it" to their customers' front doors. Now this places them in a venue where they have to compete with incumbent regional and local carriers. Are these energy trading firms really ready for this? Or, can they turn the incumbents, possibly, into their largest customers?
Certainly, ENE has already embraced the idea of partnering with ILECs, as evidenced by their Blockbuster deal. But here, the ILEC is doing the end point distribution, not ENE.
Any thoughts on this topic are welcome. |
