| work through sbc first. They should put this off until next year. They've got alot to work on sorting out their current markets before expanding. AT&T is not BellAtlantic; Expansion does not have the kind of synergies that are devoid of conflicts of interest(s). Just as Time Warner jumped at the possibility of getting AOL, it may be important to look at BellSouth with a more tactical EYE not solely in the lenses of competing with cable companies, but building a world-class fiber-optic seemless network and expanding that to the last-mile for the wireline business much in a similar way Verizon is doing, but with lower costs (much due to the fact of starting 'later'). By putting this off until next year, they save as much as 50-75% of deployment costs. ATT could commit to more fiber on it's own current foot-print.
What I'm surprised at is that there hasn't been a bigger LAND-GRAB in the smaller internet backbone companies, particualrly trying to acquire 'less profitable' municpal fiber buildouts and rights of way, and run them more profitably, much like Verizon does with wireless/ aka Vodaphone. (which is to say, use the comapany as a tax-writeoff against profits). Chunks of DARK fiber should come online in 2006 at the fringes of the ATT footprint, so att should nibble. My impression is ATT could run these datacenters more efficiently with peering logistics.
(This would put more weight behind the rhetoric announced in the att/sbc merger). |
