BellSouth: Google Should Help Pay Katrina Line Repairs?

Stop the insanity, ftw...

People access millions of other websites over Bellsouth networks. Why aren't they chargeing them?

Hey Bellsouth. You're stupid...

Yeah, What he said. Doubled!

Why stop with Google? Banks, stock brokers and telemarketers make billions every year from sales and transactions made over the phone. Why shouldn't all those freeloaders have to pay if those sales are made over the Bells phone lines?:D

I cant believe he said that, its sooo stupid.

OK dsl reports cough up a million you owe me! lol that will be next

Don't give the mega bells any ideas. I am sure they would love implement a plan that charged on all calls, both inbound and outbound. And if you happened to call long distance, you might have to pay a "long distance network access" fee, and that fee is based on the distance between the sun and two unknown places multiplied by 60, then divided by the average of the London stock exchange multiplied by the cost of coal in 1900 Wisconsin, plus the per minute cost from your LD carrier.

I just don't get it.

What in the hell are they so scared of? The gaping wound that has become their POTS business and they are scrambling to replace that cash cow?

Because Google is a Big target. Telcos like BellSouth will go after Big Targets like Google First. If they can throw enough poop and make it stick and then get us to swallow this bunk the other sites will quickly follow. Just think a HSI bill full of toll charges. Yippee! Cantcha hear your wallet screaming?

ISPs never seem to cease amazing me

Its getting to the point where the internet access could be free. Why? Plain and simple sure charge google or whoever for the line, and where the ones stuck with the F****** ads and pop ups. Here is all the BW problems advertisement.

I dont know, but its starting to look like the bells are getting hard up for money. I dont see, i havnt heard the cable companies bitching and moaning.( that i have read)

Bellsouth, i think your going to be AT%T again :P Go ahead and sell yourself to them and save us the grief on here.

I agree! Everyone should pay BellSouth. My website has some users who were in Katrina's path. If BellSouth repairs their DSL lines, they might donate money to fund the website. Therefore, I'm making money off of BellSouth's investment and should send part of that money their way.

And those people with DSL might buy Windows based computers to use their DSL connections. Therefore Microsoft should pay BellSouth otherwise BellSouth won't allow Microsoft computers to connect via BellSouth's DSL lines. And if those Windows based computers are Dells or Gateways, then Dell/Gateway should pay too. If the computers are Macs, then Apple should pay too. If the computers are Linux-based, then Linus should pay (or maybe somehow "open-source" the fee ).

(sarcasm mode off now)

This is really sounding more and more like the RIAA's complaint of "Apple's making money off of iPods, why aren't we getting any of that".

BellSouth's job as maintainer of the DSL line is to provide a pipe to their users. If the lines go down (for example, due to a hurricane), then BellSouth is responsible to get them back up as quickly as possible. That's why the BellSouth customers pay them those monthly fees. If your monthly fees aren't covering your network investments, then perhaps you need to raise your fees. But don't try to extort money out of everyone who is even tangentially connected to the other end of the pipe.

(edited to add link to the RIAA story)

Someone needs to buy 1 share of BS stock, go to their Annual Stockholders meeting and ask the BOD why the company has this view. He or she should also ask for the immediate resignation of the CEO and COO for allowing statements like these to go out.

It's like asking Michelin and GM to pay for potholes.

ROFL dude that is pure pwnage lol

This is just another classic sign that phone companies "don't get it," nor will they ever "get it." How in the world is Google responsible for restoring BellSouth DSL lines?

This is just a tried and true phone company tactic: if you can't compete, just try to slow everybody else down so you don't look bad.

Then you would be paying Google for using their Search Engine.

No one is holding a gun to anyone's head saying you have to use google do you? There are tons of search engines.

I was under the impression that bellsouth charges it's customer a month fee to lease a pipe to access anything. Has something changed?

Don't give them ideas. I'm sure the suites would love to shut down sites like DSLReports that offer users opinions and feedback. Information freely shared by customers about concerns, desires (Faster Speeds for example) and service issues.

Such things make the big suites nervous. What!!!! You dare allow posting of negative reviews by our customers? Will fix you, yes we will. See how you like this. (Makes appropriate adjustments.)

How much does NBC,CBS,ABC,etc. pay the carriers to carry their signal? Without the content providers there is no need for pipes!!!!

So BS starts charging Yahoo, Lycos, MSN, etc.. and then they charge us.... Do you not GET IT?

ISPs? Bell is no ISP, please do not lump the thousands of legitimate, open access supporting ISPs in with the phone and cable monopolies. They are NOT ISPs!

from a BellSouth mouthpiece. These guys are starting to make Steve Ballmer and George W. look good...

*begin rant*

Here's a hint BellSouth, if you don't like the fact that you are an on-ramp to the information superhighway, then stop selling the service. Google shouldn't pay a dime to get your Networks back up, but if you insist on having them pay then you damn well better give them access to your CO's and RT's in your coverage area so they can roll out their WiFi project even faster.

*end rant*

I'm sick of Bellsouth. I want Verizon to buy them out and no more of this PPPOE nonsense. Just a raw TCP/IP connection while your at it.

Bw cost money they want to recover it plain and simple.

Nope. Nothing's changed. Well, except for the fact that the bells are realizing that there's another end of the pipe and they seem to think that they're not getting paid for it.

What they either fail to realize or (more likely) know but are trying to ignore, is that Google has already paid for their end of the pipe (via some provider whose name I don't know, but I would bet it's not BellSouth). If BellSouth has a beef with the traffic Google is generating, they could possibly take it up with Google's provider, but Google itself should be kept out of it.

Of course, Google's provider isn't the one currently sitting at over $450 a share.

He's upset because he sold his shares of Google at $200

BellSouth should pay Google for loss of pay-by-click advertisement revenue due to their lines not surviving the hurricane! After all, it is BellSouth's fault that their lines weren't tough enough to survive, which leads to revenue loss for Google.. right?

Yeah.. this idea is about as stupid as the Bell's.

Go get 'em Google.

It has finally gotten to the point were they can't extort any more money out of the customer so they are going for the other end of the line. This is the most retarded thing i have heard in a long time. Is Google sending information over Bellsouth lines directly?! No...they are not....Bellsouth customers and REQUESTING information from Google. Google uploads through there pipe....goes into the information superhighway....bellsouth customer downloads through bellsouth pipe. What, are we supposed to disrupt to time space continuem for Bellsouth to make the internet work how they want to?!?! /rant