Sorry, my fault they went under
by
the_rev_matt
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
I seem to have a curse. Two of my last three employers are no longer (and the third is in critical condition).
Seriously tho', Rhythms was incredibly disorganized internally (at least in May-Nov 1999 they were). Poor communication, lack of clear goals, the usual internal politics etc. The development group was mostly overpriced/underskilled consultants who really did a lot of damage. About June of 99 they decided to hire the decent consultants (yours truly included) and drop-kick the rest, and that was certainly a good first step. Their Director of Development (Jamie Horgan) after about Nov of 99 was awesome but I don't think he could single handedly save the company from what ultimately killed them: Incumbent telcos. Going head to head with those monstrosities is begging to go out of business. You think MSFT is bad? Try dealing with Qworst, and it was only that much harder for Rhythms because the CEO defected from Qworst (it took a LONG time for Rhythms to be able to offer DSL service in their own town, because Qworst kept dragging their feet as punishment for her leaving to compete). I consider myself extremely lucky that I'm moving to a state that does not have Qworst.
the sad truth about DSL
by
FrostyWheaton
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
It appears that most DSL providers are victims of the same business model that sunk so many.com's: "Sell at a loss, and make it up in volume." Now there is a chance that DSL could be provided for $39.99 a month, but the customer base would have to be huge in order to keep the price that low. They unfourtunately ran out of money before they could build up a large enough customer base to make the business profitable.
Personally, I'm somewhat saddened to see so many DSL providers dying an early death, but that's the free market economy for you.
-- Comments should be like skirts. Short enough to keep your attention, but long enough to cover the subject
Re:the sad truth about DSL
by
the_rev_matt
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
It is not free market. Once company was given a monopoly and now smaller companies are trying to compete and are being beaten to death by thugs who buy off the state legislators and the PUC's so they don't have to pay fines or play fair. A free market would mean everyone has an equal opportunity, definitely NOT the case here.
Slashdot Mirror
Seriously tho', Rhythms was incredibly disorganized internally (at least in May-Nov 1999 they were). Poor communication, lack of clear goals, the usual internal politics etc. The development group was mostly overpriced/underskilled consultants who really did a lot of damage. About June of 99 they decided to hire the decent consultants (yours truly included) and drop-kick the rest, and that was certainly a good first step. Their Director of Development (Jamie Horgan) after about Nov of 99 was awesome but I don't think he could single handedly save the company from what ultimately killed them: Incumbent telcos. Going head to head with those monstrosities is begging to go out of business. You think MSFT is bad? Try dealing with Qworst, and it was only that much harder for Rhythms because the CEO defected from Qworst (it took a LONG time for Rhythms to be able to offer DSL service in their own town, because Qworst kept dragging their feet as punishment for her leaving to compete). I consider myself extremely lucky that I'm moving to a state that does not have Qworst.
this is getting old and so are you
blog
It appears that most DSL providers are victims of the same business model that sunk so many .com's: "Sell at a loss, and make it up in volume." Now there is a chance that DSL could be provided for $39.99 a month, but the customer base would have to be huge in order to keep the price that low. They unfourtunately ran out of money before they could build up a large enough customer base to make the business profitable.
Personally, I'm somewhat saddened to see so many DSL providers dying an early death, but that's the free market economy for you.
Comments should be like skirts. Short enough to keep your attention, but long enough to cover the subject
...we may go through it all again if some baby bells are broken up.
m l? tag=tp_pr
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-6818658.ht
Rest assured that your government is working on it (shudder).