Verizon, the Monster

Originally Posted on February 25, 2005 Last Updated on May 12, 2008

My holiest of grails, as of late, is Wired Magazine, who’ve released this story regarding why even if local governments wanted to provide free broadband, WiFi all across their governing lands, they couldn’t.

Not in PA anyway, unless you live in Philly.

At the heart of the deception is Verizon, with this to comment.

Up Next: Wilco Live on NPR

Discussion

ClickNathan 25 Feb 2005

Oh man, this boils me up, you see, the Internet is free. I mean, you pay for it to be delivered to your house, sure, but that’s only because you have to.

I can see the side of Verizon where they state that “If we can’t make money off of the Internet, we’re certainly not going to build the infrastructure for it.” That’s a valid claim.

For 1995 perhaps.

Look at Wikipedia, Linux and all of its software, Firefox, all of these creations prove that it is completely unnecessary to have a business where you derive your profit from sales. People are willing to work for very cheap or free if they believe in something, and the Internet is why that can happen, so that like-minded people don’t all have to move to one city to do something like this.

Fight the power. Go Sprint.

(hahahahahahhahaha!)

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olivia 25 Feb 2005

A lot of areas in South Africa cant get broadband so people started to set up wifi communities all on their own based on expensive satellite internet and shared the costs. They have recently been informed that they need to pay a very high license fee to provide this public service, just like major ISPs. New law. Its insanely expensive, no-one could possibly afford it. And so they are back to 56k dialup again.

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julie 25 Feb 2005

yea, we learned in my telecomm class last semester just how defunct the phone companies are, yet still trying desparately to hold on. it’s pretty upsetting.

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ClickNathan 25 Feb 2005

Defunct is an excellent term, but I think it is self-imposed.

The only companies that will survive in the technology world are those that can forever renew what they are as a company.

Verizon could become a support company, a cheap solution to IT for the small business, and continue with their wireless phone plan, or continue providing their superpages.com type of services. Landlines are a dinosaur desperately holding on, but even DSL will most likely be given the boot eventually, if not in the wake of it’s similar but superior rival Cable, then when Wireless Internet becomes all powerful.

I suppose they’re just praying to keep on with that.

I’m glad I’ve gone Sprint.

I have harbored resentment to Verizon ever since I realized that they offer different packages to different communities. In PGH you can get your cell/DSL/landline all for like $80, or when I lived there you could. Here, they don’t offer the same plan, because the market can support something higher. There is less competition. That is perhaps good business but I hate good business.

I’m sure there are problems with Sprint as well, I just haven’t heard of them.

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julie 25 Feb 2005

also, how did you get your wired already? i want mine =(

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st0nes 26 Feb 2005

Sprint… yeah what ever. They have the weakest security ever. If being able to get yours, and just about any one else‚Äôs account info, in a poorly managed data server is not a problem then I don‚Äôt know what is. GOSH…!

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