1 edit | Marriage of 2 over the hill has beens won't extend life ... ...of either of these companies. The most Covad can hope for is to be bought out by some big telco. And Vonage doesn't even have that hope. The cable companies will just wait till they die. Vonage is already irrelevant as a competitor.
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| said by fAcEtIOUs:...of either of these companies. The most Covad can hope for is to be bought out by some big telco. And Vonage doesn't even have that hope. The cable companies will just wait till they die. Vonage is already irrelevant as a competitor. It's just hilarious to me that the armchair "experts" on this topic chime in everytime to announce the demise of both Covad and Vonage.
I worked for Covad in 2000-2001, and nearly eight years later the patient isn't dead yet. I've been using Vonage for over three years now, and continue to hear early obituaries being sounded and yet, no dead patient.
Maybe the longer and harder the prognosticators wish for their mutual destruction, the harder and longer it will be to kill them both off.  |
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| said by satellite68:I worked for Covad in 2000-2001, and nearly eight years later the patient isn't dead yet. I've been using Vonage for over three years now, and continue to hear early obituaries being sounded and yet, no dead patient. Well, it's true that Covad lives on (now private), but it's also true that they never turned a profit (while burning through hoards of cash) and pissed off shareholders all while customer service went down the tubes. Not a well run company. It will be interesting to see what happens now that they're privately held.
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"I've learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." |
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| ...and regardless of those circumstances, they're still breathing.
Their customer service issues weren't always their problems, lots of ILEC foot dragging/delays, and blatant fraud/anti competitive behaviors...you know, like flat out refusing to provision ordered/paid for circuits, provisioning the wrong circuits, cutting pairs on purpose, etc. I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw it myself. |
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| Yup, I don't doubt you're correct. It's a rough business being a CLEC, that's for sure.
I have to tell you that as a customer I was extremely happy with their service until that last year or so. I guess they had to save money, but the support was really bad. Prior to their changes, I though Covad was, by far, the best.
Maybe they'll see good improvements with the new owner.
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"I've learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." |
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 KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little GuyPremium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
 ·AT&T DSL Service
| reply to burgermeister
I disagree.
I don't think Covad was poorly run. I think they had the same problem all the other start-ups had... The Communications Act of 1996 was never properly implemented or enforced, and then worse, it was ripped out from under them.
That they survive now, while so many others already died, is more a testament to the management then anything else.
However, I do agree the future looks not so great.
I think their only hope is if they can hang on and slowly build out their own fiber network... without borrowing large amounts of cash.
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"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) |
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patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
kudos:1 | reply to satellite68
Covad will never die, if they do the FCC will be in trouble since there won't be any DSL resellers left in this country, sparking criticism from Congress since Covad won't exist for Congress critters to tell themselves "there is no monopoly on high speed internet since Covad exists" to sleep at night. It would be like if Martin actually bankrupted Comcast and now tomorrow only Satellite TV exists (and a minimal amount of telco TV), or if Amtrak declared bankruptcy and closed up shop. |
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| Unfortunately Amtrak is alive today because of all the Local, state and Federal Subsidies.
Since it's inception(I believe 1972) it has Received BILLIONS AND BILLIONS just to keep it going.
Heres an example of a News article from April 29, 2008
"Missouri House and Senate budget negotiators approved on Tuesday $8 million in subsidies that will allow Amtrak to continue operating two passenger trains that make two trips per day between St. Louis and Kansas City"
»www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stor···y28.html |
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patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
kudos:1
1 edit | said by No Free Ride :
Since it's inception(I believe 1972) it has Received BILLIONS AND BILLIONS just to keep it going.
Since it's inception airlines have Received BILLIONS AND BILLIONS just to keep them going.
All public transportation is subsidized to an extent in this country. |
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