Thanks, Jason, for a very nice post. The pluses you mention are why I bought the stock, but it's very helpful to have them all listed in an organized way. By the way, the "sleeping" stock has snapped wide-awake. It looks like December again.
I was talking to an MCI executive a few years ago, and his take on bandwidth was illuminating (at the time!). We were discussing the need for more bandwidth and I was perhaps thinking about starting up a company to provide the kind of bandwidth you would need for things like video-on-demand. His statement was that within 5 years, bandwidth will be free and content will rule the day. Well, today it still looks like bandwidth is the key and it looks very much like it still won't be free. Someone has to provide the backbone, someone has to levy charges to pay for it. Back then, bandwidth meant T1 or T3. Compared to those prices, ADSL looks almost free. But it's not enough, still.
To me, the most interesting "internet plays" are the the plumbing (QWST, the Bells, others) and the switching (CSCO, LU, others). It seems almost a given that the leaders in these areas will make money. As for content providers, portals, auction or retail sites, etc. it seems like a morass. It would be pure speculation, exhilarating at times, but it wouldn't be investing. Then you have to improve your odds by doing a lot of trading. I don't have the time to do that.
This is a good thread, with interesting discussions. I hope to be able to contribute over time.
-musea |
