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 funchordsHelloPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA
kudos:5 | Re: The pipe said by battleop:I bet you are not willing to pay what it costs for a dumb pipe.
That's easy for you to say when the ISPs aren't offering "dumb" as an option.
said by battleop:The "worthless portal garbage" helps to pay for and attract other paying customers how help defray the individual costs ... Utter and complete bullcrap.
Nobody wants the portals. Nobody picks Comcast over AT&T or Verizon over Comcast because of their perception of who has the better portal.
--
Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Hillsboro, Oregon -- KJ7RL
...just some more roadkill on the Information Superhighway... | |
|   MattAll noise, no signal.Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
kudos:12 | Re: The pipe said by funchords:said by battleop:I bet you are not willing to pay what it costs for a dumb pipe. That's easy for you to say when the ISPs aren't offering "dumb" as an option. said by battleop:The "worthless portal garbage" helps to pay for and attract other paying customers how help defray the individual costs ... Utter and complete bullcrap. Nobody wants the portals. Nobody picks Comcast over AT&T or Verizon over Comcast because of their perception of who has the better portal. I have to agree.
People chose Comcast or AT&T based on which company has the best price, or in rare cases, which company provides better service. | |
| CorydonCultivant son jardinPremium
join:2008-02-18
Denver, CO | said by funchords:Utter and complete bullcrap. Nobody wants the portals. Nobody picks Comcast over AT&T or Verizon over Comcast because of their perception of who has the better portal. I'd say people expect the portals. How many ISPs don't offer email? How much ISPs don't offer a place to post a webpage (which also incidentally saves a lot of upstream bandwidth)?
And how many people here like the idea of programming their DVR online? Or looking at their TV guide online? Or checking voicemail online? Or want to check and pay their bill online? Or any of these other synergies across the product line?
Or what about the people that ISPs push to get some kind of virus protection on their computer (perhaps not the best stuff on the market, but a heck of a lot better than nothing)? Just how many more zombies would a "dumb pipe" ISP have on its network?
All of these are "portal" activities. And as I've pointed out elsewhere, as corporate expenses go, they're not terribly big impacts on the bottom line (or on capital expenditures for that matter).
--
"2 Strangers + 1 20 minute ceremony + $50 + 10 shots of tequila = Holy Matrimony and 1st Class Protections Under the Law… now that’s crazy!" | |
| | funchordsHelloPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA
kudos:5 | Re: The pipe said by Corydon:said by funchords:Utter and complete bullcrap. Nobody wants the portals. Nobody picks Comcast over AT&T or Verizon over Comcast because of their perception of who has the better portal. I'd say people expect the portals. How many ISPs don't offer email? How much ISPs don't offer a place to post a webpage (which also incidentally saves a lot of upstream bandwidth)? And how many people here like the idea of programming their DVR online? Or looking at their TV guide online? Or checking voicemail online? Or want to check and pay their bill online? Or any of these other synergies across the product line? Or what about the people that ISPs push to get some kind of virus protection on their computer (perhaps not the best stuff on the market, but a heck of a lot better than nothing)? Just how many more zombies would a "dumb pipe" ISP have on its network? All of these are "portal" activities. And as I've pointed out elsewhere, as corporate expenses go, they're not terribly big impacts on the bottom line (or on capital expenditures for that matter). Every single thing you've mentioned here can be provided by someone other than the ISP.
Content and carriage need to be separated.
--
Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Hillsboro, Oregon -- KJ7RL
...just some more roadkill on the Information Superhighway... | |
| | | | | Re: The pipe And where is your national ISP to provide this service? | |
| | | CorydonCultivant son jardinPremium
join:2008-02-18
Denver, CO | said by funchords:Every single thing you've mentioned here can be provided by someone other than the ISP. Content and carriage need to be separated. As long as net neutrality is respected why can't Comcast (or any other company for that matter) get into the content game?
OK, fine. You don't like what they have to offer. Don't use it. Problem solved.
Some of this is, I admit, a matter of tradition. For example, every single ISP I've ever had, going back to the university account that I accessed using a 2400 bps modem in the late '80s and early '90s has provided me with at least one email address.
For other stuff, there's an undeniable benefit to the network having the ISP provide at least some online content. I've already mentioned how it's in everyone's best interest to have ISPs pushing some kind of security suite on their customers. You and I may be fine with going out and finding our own software, but we both know that there are lots of people out there who won't do it unless they are helped (not everyone's got ready access to a geek).
Other stuff, like Fancast, is obviously an attempt to get out in front of a trend that may potentially end up undercutting their core business. Why shouldn't they do that?
And when it comes right down to it, is watching a TV show on Fancast "content" that the ISP shouldn't do, when watching the same TV show on cable TV is legit?
Arguably, there are some things that ISPs seem to do better than third parties; VoIP would appear to be a case in point considering how many third party VoIP companies have disappeared or are on life support while cable VoIP subscribers are still growing. Or is that not "content"? (Whatever...it's certainly an online service). Are you saying that Comcast should not have gotten into that business? Something that's adding considerably to the company's bottom line these days?
--
"2 Strangers + 1 20 minute ceremony + $50 + 10 shots of tequila = Holy Matrimony and 1st Class Protections Under the Law… now that’s crazy!" | |
| | | | funchordsHelloPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA
kudos:5
1 edit | Re: The pipe said by Corydon:As long as net neutrality is respected why can't Comcast (or any other company for that matter) get into the content game? Because it never is respected. That's why DSL's competition never really formed up, because the incumbent ISP also owned the pipes and could jack up the "wholesale" price.
We have ISPs hijacking DNS to advertising, breaking this valuable service -- in some case, even blocking the use of 3rd-party service (Sprint Mobile).
And then we had AT&T threatening content providers that they'll have to pay up to reach customers or get the dregs of what's left; Virgin said the same thing; Aussie ISPs are breaking their caps for their "preferred" partners; and we have Viacom threatening ISPs that if they don't buy their TV channels that they'll cut off their Internet users!
Freedom on the Internet means you can go wherever you want without undo influence. It's getting to the point where there's a lot of undo influence -- and pretty much the Internet will eventually become like your TV set -- you get to choose from whatever they pick out for you to watch ... and this wonderful 25-year experiment of breaking down barriers to commerce and knowledge will be over.
--
Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Hillsboro, Oregon -- KJ7RL
...just some more roadkill on the Information Superhighway... | |
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| | "That's easy for you to say when the ISPs aren't offering "dumb" as an option."
They do offer these types of circuits. They don't market them to the consumer because the consumer will not pay the price for a business or enterprise class circuit.
"Nobody wants the portals. Nobody picks Comcast over AT&T or Verizon over Comcast because of their perception of who has the better portal.
That's a pretty big claim that you can't backup. Do you honestly believe that no one visits their portal? | |
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