Time Running out on the Big Carriers

[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Gary Morgenthaler, Morgenthaler Ventures ]
[Commentary] Some have described the Regional Bell Operating Companies as "glaciers" because they are slow to innovate, but once started, nearly impossible to stop. Five years ago these RBOC companies lived up to that appellation by grinding to dust the dozens of so-called Competitive Local Exchange Carriers that emerged after the 1996 Telecommunications Act to challenge their hegemony. But now they face another entrepreneurial challenge from companies that want to lop off the RBOCs' most reliable source of profitability: traditional voice traffic. Skype, with more than 70 million subscribers and the backing of its new owner, eBay, is the most prominent challenger. But other providers of largely free voice over Internet Protocol are also coming on strong: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Vonage and the cable companies. Can RBOCs continue in anything close to their present form? This time, I believe, the answer is "no." I bet within three to five years, all we’re going to see of RBOCs will be a sizable pool of water. What Internet pioneer Vinton Cerf called the "commoditization of transport" will have forever melted RBOCs and their hopes for market dominance and high profit margins.
http://news.com.com/2010-1037_3-6043751.html?part=rss&tag=6043751&subj=news

* Net Neutrality Reading List
http://www.iptablog.org/2006/02/28/net_neutrality_reading_list.html