Somehow AOL is going to have to get cable access - DSL will never do. Everybody knows it. It will be interesting how it all plays out.
Franz:
Those are pretty bold statements. Convince me that "DSL will never do" -- cuz I don't know that yet.
DSL will compete very well with cable. Each has its pros & cons (i.e. potential throughput, shared bandwidth, security, experience delivering 2-way data traffic, capital expense, subscriber pricing; & each will appeal to different types of individuals. Both mediums will be providing broadband access for the foreseeable future; each will find its market niche. Keep in mind the market for delivering access to the Internet will be huge, much larger than today. The competition b/w the telcos & cablecos will be healthy for the consumer.
AOL's argument demanding access over T/TCI cable was ludicrous. DSL will be as significant for AOL as cable will -- with AOL's thanks to T's good business sense. Fortunately, Armstrong is astute enough to realize that, given AOL's strong appetite/desire for access over cable, T is in excellent position to exact some benefit from AOL by establishing some presence w/i the AOL business model. Having access to AOL's large subscriber base would represent tremendous opportunity for T to market its services that extend beyond Internet access. We're talkin' multi-telecommunications here. |
