AT&T: Ma Bell’s Giving the Internet Another Go
September 18, 2008
I need a scorecard to keep track of the “new” Ma Bell’s Internet initiatives. Disclosure: I worked on AT&T projects when I worked at Booz, Allen & Hamilton. I was a vendor to Bell Laboratories and several units of the pre-break up AT&T. I worked on a programming job at Bell Communications Research, and I was involved in the USWest Yellow Pages Project. I even have a couple of pals who are former Bell Labs’s wizards. Therefore, when I say, I’m confused it’s almost like hearing this from a real Bell head.
The story “AT&T to Link iPhone to U-Verse Video, Internet”. You can read it here. The hook for the story is AT&T’s effort to extend its reach into the Google-verse. Oh, sorry, I meant “Internet world.” I don’t want to go through the history of AT&T’s different efforts in different incarnations in the Internet. Some of them are truly amazing. The split between the “real” AT&T and the separate “hosting” outfit in year 2000 and 2001 were inspired. Then there was the buy out of IBM’s Internet service that became AT&T’s dial up Internet service. Then there was a deal with Yahoo for DSL which was pretty darned amusing. I could go on but won’t.
Now the “new” AT&T is creating a U-Verse to get a piece of the video action. Never mind that AT&T has changed directions more times that my mother when she was fiddling with which figurine went on which shelf. The notion that AT&T is going to glue together its new mobile search service (I think the partner is Yahoo now), the independent Steve Jobs (the dominant force in digital audio and video for money), and an AT&T designed high speed Internet services.
Right.
The traditional telcos can win in the US because the companies can bill people. Elsewhere, life is not so good. Furthermore, Google is a crafty beast, and it has already reached a truce of sorts with Verizon. (Chortle, ha, ha). Here’s what will happen:
- The new service will appear and AT&T mobile customers will get a deal–for a short time. Then the fees hit.
- The partners–Apple and Yahoo–may grumble. AT&T will try to put these outfits in a thumb screw and legal eagles will flap.
- Digital video will remain volatile, a money sink, and contentious.
- AT&T will reload and try again.
If you see another outcome, educate me. Just wear your Young Pioneers’ ball cap and t shirt. If you don’t know what these are, don’t bother writing me. You are uninformed about the way Ma Bell operates.
Stephen Arnold, September 18, 2008
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One Response to “AT&T: Ma Bell’s Giving the Internet Another Go”
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AT&T is becoming a poticial Rag for the Democrat party. Read the bias lies from CNN, MSNBC and all the rest of those Liberal rags on AT&T web site. They have promote every lie possible that been put out on the Republican Candiates. It could be they are searching for “GOVERNMENT FAVORS”. I will be canceling my Internet and phone service with these Hacks.