Yeah, I'm surprised that nobody points out that Steve is doing just what a CEO should do: try to get the best possible broadband deal he can for AOL.
Armstrong is one of the best CEOs around and he is not giving away his pipes for nothing.
So Steve is screaming to the press, screaming to the feds and screaming to every public forum that will listen about how prices for the cable pipes should be regulated.
Smart move and the correct one to do, but it won't work. AOL did not spend a dime building the highway so why should AOL be given a cheap ride.
Eventually Steve will make a deal with T. The sooner the better, IMHO, because the more time you waste, the more time Excite has to get on and try to sew things up. There is really no reason not to settle now. T has 70% of ATHM and 40% of roadrunner.
Just get it over with, even though it will cost profits, and deploy a broadband connection. With 17 million subscribers, AOL will become the tail that wags the cable dog.
Note that if Steve did not do this and just made a deal with T, everyone would yell about what a bad CEO he is because he should have tried to get a better deal, complained to congress, etc., etc. |
