All points well said, and well taken, Bernard. This can go on and on...
>Regarding FON's ION network, I hope that it will not be exclusively targeted at xDSL service, but will also include broadband wireless.<
One of my first takes on the ION announcement was to suggest that Teligent (AGRPA), WCII and ARTT were going to be in good positioning, but nothing I said turned any heads in those threads, and nothing that FON stated subsequently reinforced the idea that they might be receptive to wireless on a large scale, that I am aware of. Everything seems to be pointing to ATM over DSL and perhaps cable modem.
We may see some real ironies emerge out of these deals. If T takes TCOMA facilities and successfully turns them into local exchange pipes, what's to stop FON from reselling those access pipes for ION purposes if the players by that time are truly opening up their stores for interconnection? I don't think that a local access carrier, switched or otherwise, can refuse common carriage to any long distance carrier on the basis of competitive reasons. We're seeing some interesting conflict emerge on this topic with T's acquisition of TCG, in fact, and things are getting really uncomfortable in some corners. Take for example, where TCG sold very large amounts of bandwidth to MCIC and FON for their own access purposes to large enterprise subscribers, and now find themselves being owned by the competing T. Some of these bandwidth contracts have four or five years of life left in them, and the customers chose TCG on the merits of attributes other than pricing, such as redundancy and diversity. Hmm.
>One last comment: with AT&T's takeover of TCI, many commentators have assumed that the RBOCs would be in trouble. However, this takeover probably accelerates the time when the RBOCS will be allowed in the long distance business. Assuming that each one of the BOCs buys one of the new alternate long distance providers (QWST, LVLT, Williams, IXC,
Frontier), wouldn't AT&T be in danger of extinction?<
I think that you've very nicely pointed to the next round of Mondo-Class acquisitions, although I'm getting flack here when I mention those myself. From you, and others here, I believe. <grin>
Although, in all fairness, I did not suggest that they would take place in the same context that you have suggested.
Regards, Frank C.
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