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Cable: Natural born monopoly?

The second quarter results are out and it appears that the cable industry is winning share in broadband, phone and TV connections and handily thwarting encroachment by the likes of Verizon and AT&T. In fact, TV and broadband service is meant to be a monopoly and cable appears to be...

Tags: verizon communications inc., broadband, at&t corp., ma bell, satellite, moffett, broadband growth, cost reduction effort, network technology, cable, broadband internet, telecommunications, networking, personal technology, larry dignan

Blog posts 2008-08-11

Icahn miffed at Yahoo response; Has Google envy too

Icahn miffed at Yahoo response; Has Google envy tooSo companies run by engineers always win?You wrote:Google is run by engineers and that's why the company knocked the snot out of Yahoo.[End quote] Are marketing and operations so unimportant?Icahn's a money manAnd he appears to be looking at Yahoo strictly as...

Tags: Telecom & Utilities, Icahn, Yahoo! Inc., Google Inc., phone, Ma Bell

Discussion threads 2008-06-09

BellSouth shareholders approve AT

BellSouth shareholders approve ATCan you say Ma Bell?So this is it, we went to all that trouble to split Ma Bell into baby bells to increase competition and now Ma Bell is being allowed to return like the Borg by gobbling up her babies one by one? AT&T was once...

Tags: Federal government, Ma Bell, BellSouth shareholder, BellSouth Corp., shareholder

Discussion threads 2006-07-22

What does AT&T/BellSouth mean for consumers?

What does AT&T/BellSouth mean for consumers?Actually, Ma Bell didn't have any competitionBell Teliphone Company, aka Ma Bell, didn't have any competitors when it was broken up in 1975. That's the primary reason it was broken up. Basically, it's monopoly lead to poor customer service, over charging for what...

Tags: Telecom & Utilities, WAS IT, phone, phone company, Ma Bell

Discussion threads 2006-03-06

Opening salvo in Net neutrality battle

Opening salvo in Net neutrality battleMa Bell is rearing her head."The network builders are spending a fortune constructing and maintaining the networks [Why do they do this? I would presume it is to make money. Well, just how do they get that money? From us. The...

Tags: Fiber optics, Optical networking, Network technology, NETWORKING, Ma Bell, neutrality, network, Internet, Google Inc., fiber-optics, Verizon Communications Inc., Net Neutrality

Discussion threads 2006-02-08

VoIP wants to cut the computer cord

VoIP wants to cut the computer cordMa bell is gonna get mad!Ma Bell will call out the hit men before they let this go much further.TTY Since VoIP are popular with hearing consumers...I have a question. Is there a VoIP service that can open a data channel that when I...

Tags: Telephony, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, computer, TTY, VoIP, Ma Bell

Discussion threads 2005-09-26

Ma Bell to have local rebirth online?

Ma Bell to have local rebirth online?Let me get this straight. The Baby Bellsconvinced the FCC to do away with wholesaling to other carriers to protect their investment in the infrastructure. This resulted in AT&T, for one, to drop services. This, in effect, lowered the possible future...

Tags: Federal government, FCC, AT&T Corp., Ma Bell

Discussion threads 2005-02-24

SBC, AT&T say Bell breakup doesn't work

SBC, AT&T say Bell breakup doesn't workWow could Bell be back?With SBC basically going around buying out the larger baby bells and then a merger with AT&T? This is interesting.And We want breakup of Microsoft???I know...I know...I know...Microsoft is hated by??...But breaking up is the remedy? Look at this Bell...

Tags: Modems, Telecom & Utilities, Leadership, Strategy, Telephony, WiMAX STEAMROLLER, Ma Bell, breakup, SBC, AT&T Corp.

Discussion threads 2005-02-22

Additional Resources

Antitrust: Time to break apart the phone companies -- again?

Actually,those 'guaranteed revenue' companiesAre not so rare. Food companies, oil and gas companies, phone companies, electric companies, water utilities.... the list goes on and on if I had enough time to think of them all.That is why we need to break up any company that gets more than a 10%...

Tags: Corporate law, Telecom & Utilities, Network technology, Food & Beverage, 360Networks Corp., phone company, phone, antitrust

Discussion threads 2009-10-21

FCC to vote on wireless industry competition inquiry; Watch out Verizon and AT&T

How does the current setup stiffle innovation?Is the fcc indicating that they feel phones are not as advanced as they should be, or that wireless networks are not as innovative as they chould be?The current setup prevents consumers from ....1. Choosing the device they want2. Using it with...

Tags: 3G, Federal government, Cellular phones, Wireless and Mobility, Asian Governments, bureaucrat, Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Corp., FCC, phone

Discussion threads 2009-08-21

Could Apple really dictate iPhone terms to Verizon Wireless?

Could Apple really dictate iPhone terms to Verizon Wireless?RE: Could Apple really dictate iPhone terms to Verizon Wireless?ATT needs to dump cash to up the network ante.....and fast.american math"AT&T?s retail churn rate has improved to 1.2 percent, still behind Verizon?s 1.14 percent. " I don't know about american mathematics but...

Tags: Smart phones, Cellular phones, ATT, Apple Inc., Apple iPhone, Verizon Communications Inc., Verizon Wireless, AT&T Corp.

Discussion threads 2009-07-19

Should wireless carriers be dropping mobile app stores for their own brand?

Should wireless carriers be dropping mobile app stores for their own brand?competition choice cost > convenienceA fractured market is a competitive market. Ma Bell was convenient but telecommunication is indisputably richer and less expensive thanks to a confusing but relatively vibrant marketplace.

Tags: Wi-Fi, Branding, Wireless and Mobility, mobile app, brand, wireless, mobile

Discussion threads 2009-07-16

Analyst: Forget the Feds, Apple is 'doing just fine at wrecking the wireless business'

Analyst: Forget the Feds, Apple is 'doing just fine at wrecking the wireless business'that's like SAP "wrecked" outsourcing...while I agree the govt inquiry may come to nothing, Moffat's argument is ingenious. By agreeing to a locked SIM, allowing AT&T to continue to play games with 3rd party apps like Skype...

Tags: Wi-Fi, Wireless and Mobility, Telecom & Utilities, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, Apple Inc., wireless business, wireless

Discussion threads 2009-07-13

Bad Idea Dept.: AT&T's Ed Whitacre to run General Motors

Ed Whitacre, who built SBC, one of the babies Bell, back into "The New AT&T" has been tapped by the Obama Administration's auto task force to be chairman of the "reinvented General Motors." Seriously. Think about that. AT&T is the template for...

Tags: Board, AT&T Corp., General Motors Corp., Whitacre, Whiteacre, Corporate Governance, Telecom & Utilities, Strategy, Business Operations, Corporate Law, Management, Mitch Ratcliffe

Blog posts 2009-06-09

Can the Man Who Re-Assembled AT&T Change His Tune For GM?

Ed Whitacre. The quintessential amalgator of companies. He's going to save GM, as its new chairman? Don't get me wrong. He did a pretty amazing job with the hand he was played in telecommunications. He took the smallest of the Baby Bells,...

Tags: AT&T Corp., Southwestern Bell, General Motors Corp., Internet, Operational Planning, Telephony, Business Operations, Networking, Tom Steinert-Threlkeld

Blog posts 2009-06-09

Should Apple keep its exclusive iPhone deal with AT&T?

AT&T chief Randall Stephenson not-so-surprisingly wants to extend an exclusive deal with Apple until 2011, but the larger question is whether Steve Jobs & Co. should stick with Ma Bell. The Wall Street Journal reports: AT&T's exclusive deal to carry the iPhone in the U.S. expires...

Tags: Apple iPhone, AT&T Corp., Apple Inc., Sales Strategy, Wireless And Mobility, Sales, Larry Dignan

Blog posts 2009-04-15

Micro-emailing: The 2009 email brevity challenge

Micro-emailing: The 2009 email brevity challengeSMS Limit too abritraryIsn't the 140 character limit imposed by Twitter a relic of the GSM set of standards from the 20th century (1985 if Wikipedia is to be believed.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_message_serviceI remember when Ma Bell charged exorbitant rates for any call exceeding 2 minutes. Perhaps we...

Tags: Micro-emailing, email brevity, e-mail, brevity

Discussion threads 2008-12-30

Apple Confuses Speech with a DMCA Violation

Apple Confuses Speech with a DMCA ViolationApple is much more evil than MS...they've just been so much less successful that no one has noticed just how evil Apple is. People are beginning to notice. :)RE: Apple Confuses Speech with a DMCA ViolationI used to use Anapod Explorer for my old...

Tags: Digital media, Digital music, Computers Today, Apple Inc., Apple Confuses Speech, DMCA Violation, DMCA

Discussion threads 2008-12-02

Will Apple launch a netbook? And other burning questions

Will Apple launch a netbook? And other burning questionsApple's Proprietary Wayswill keep them in their ongoing 'elite' niche market unless they open up 'just a little' and OEM OS X.11" for $800?In a tough economic downturn? Heck, with huge spending deficits and bailout city happening, I can see a...

Tags: Desktops, Apple Inc., netbook

Discussion threads 2008-11-25

Rumor: AT&T to charge $30 per month for tethering

Rumor: AT&T to charge $30 per month for tetheringWhat exactly is tethering?It would have been helpful to explain what tethering is, for us non-american readers.So what is it?Thanks,RE: Rumor: AT&T to charge $30 per month for tetheringIt's a term from the Wild Wild West, it's where you tie your horse...

Tags: PRODUCTIVITY, 3G, WIRELESS, Wi-Fi, AT&T Corp., computer, phone, mobile

Discussion threads 2008-11-13