Re: FW: Cable Modems and Choosing an ISP

[Robert Monaco <tronic@ix.netcom.com>]

  Dory Ethan Leifer wrote:
  
  > ...... Small ISPs and RBOCs
  > might find themselves positioned against a common competitor.
  > 
  
  I'm a new subscriber to this list, but I'd like to share a bit of info 
  (with the risk that it's repetitive).  
  
  I have been talking with Bell Atlantic for lo these many months 
  regarding ISDN, originally for my personal, residential use.  Of course, 
  trying to get ISDN info from BA is a great challenge, especially since 
  the Residential Tariff is very recent.  No onw at BA is able to define 
  the true usage costs: is the .02/min a *surcharge*?, is it only in 
  *local calling area*?, only *intra-LATA*?, how about inter-LATA?, how 
  about IEC-carried connections???  Ad nauseum.
  
  But the point of this posting has to do with a comment I heard from one 
  BA employee that BA is planning to BECOME and ISP.  Of course this seems 
  to be somewhat antagonistic to BA's current efforts to facilitate ISPs. 
   But so what...  At the rate that the RBOCs move on new technology, and 
  the pricing philosophy that they employ (overvalued--uncompetitive), 
  perhaps their effort to get a piece of the ISP pie will fall as flat as 
  their non-existent ISDN marketing effort.
  
  Regarding the 'value' pricing structure on ISDN, perhaps the telcos 
  should expand that philosophy to value-price *all* calls: calls to 
     411 Information:  .001/min
  Friends and Family:  .05/min
          Businesses:  .10/min
       Professionals: 1.00/min
             Datacom: 2.00/min
               911: 500.00/min
  
  Bob Monaco