 swhx7 Premium join:2006-07-23 Elbonia
·RoadRunner Cable
1 edit | Re: Fios vs. DOCSIS said by bmn :Definitely a drawback to a market driven economy... People buy cheap crap, not quality. That's just a way of saying you have a different idea of what value for the dollar is.
The Mac with equivalent hardware was "more powerful" according to its fans - but that was based on testing with things it was good at, like Photoshop. On other tasks the PC made better scores. But the masses didn't decide based on these considerations alone - other factors have been more important, such as generic vs. proprietary hardware, software compatibility, GUI familiarity and style, and network effects.
The Concorde if I'm not mistaken had its use restrained by factors other than "quality" - such as imposing special requirements on airports, and sonic boom issues. Likewise Beta tapes were better in the narrow dimension of picture quality, but consumers also looked at cassette size, recording time, price, and other factors.
In the case of cable vs. fiber, bandwidth is what consumers look at and it is also where fiber beats cable. Because the virtues of the product coincide with consumer preferences in this case, it has a good chance of succeeding.
Providers could still shoot themselves in the foot with bad decisions. For example, the policy of ripping out the copper may alienate some potential customers. |