 KoolMoeAw ManPremium join:2001-02-14 Annapolis, MD | reply to sporkme
Re: Qwest between a rock and a hard place I'd imagine muni competition, like the UTOPIA project, are Qwest's biggest concerns...and I dunno about the cable companies in the vast areas Qwest serves. Also consider the population density in their service area makes it much harder to get the ROI they need to keep investors happy.
They do need to move a little more aggressively, I think, though. Perhaps it would be wise for them to open up what fiber they do have to service providers, like Utopia has? I dunno... KM -- Lake George Poetry |
 calvoiper join:2003-03-31 Belvedere Tiburon, CA | Qwest's dilemma is pretty simple.
If they really want to compete with cable, they'll have to have big capacity into the house. They may think that 15-20 Mbps will do it, but it may not, depending on viewing habits, success of HDTV, and other factors. But we're looking at significant bucks for either level of video-capable speed.
In any event, the most that they can reasonably hope for would be to get about half of the video market--cable will fight to keep as many video customers as it can.
Nobody on Wall Street following telcos thinks "risk" of any type is a good idea--especially when the best you can hope to get is half of somebody else's business. Nobody following telcos on Wall Street sees the potential of true, full video on demand, either.
The result is that even if Qwest frees itself from a "Bellhead" mentality, it still has to deal with stock analysts thinking in that manner.
A dilemma, yes--but no tears shed here.
calvoiper -- VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! |