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From: brian@awfulhak.demon.co.uk (Brian Somers)
Newsgroups: demon.ip.support,demon.tech.unix,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Batch FTP and Web Pages
Followup-To: demon.ip.support,demon.tech.unix,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Date: 2 Jul 1996 22:24:11 -0500
Organization: Coverform Ltd.
Lines: 47
Message-ID: <4rcp4r$ca@anorak.coverform.lan>
References: <31D4AA3A.BC0@www.play-hookey.com> <836073421snz@dsl.co.uk> <31D87436.7C7F@www.play-hookey.com>
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Ken Bigelow (kbigelow@www.play-hookey.com) wrote:
: Also, what are the chances of establishing a flat fee for local telephone
: usage? I have a sneaking hunch that that one factor is *the* primary
: limitation in your system, and that you folks in the UK will be held back
: until some sort of flat rate becomes possible.
Ah, well, that's a long story. The UK (believe it or not) has the most
technically advanced and widest telecom infrastructure in the world.
Coupled with this is a government that thinks it's a good idea not to
use it - almost as bad as allowing people to use it and then thinking
that it can be censored.
The "arguement" goes along the lines of:
Government official: Oh dear chaps, our one and only telecom company
makes £0.97 profit per second every second of the
year. What shall we do.
Other official: I know, let's tax it.
Government official: But we already do.
Other official: I know, let's break the monopoly.
Government official: But how?
Other official: We'll tell them that they can't use their
infrastructure.
Government official: Yes, I like that, we don't know what it is anyway.
So along come the cable companies, jumping in there and laying their
(relatively meesly) cableing.
Government official: We've got a problem, BT are undercutting the oppo
and nobody wants to move from BT.
Other official: Ok, let's tell BT that they aren't allow to drop
their rates - especially if they plan to make
local calls free.
Government official: But the cable companies offer free off-peak local
cable company to cable company calls.
Other official: Well, let's hope nobody notices.
BT are now practically excluded from the ISP market when they have (I
think) in the region of T3 width lines under the streets. Sounds like
AT&T a few years ago. "You're not allowed to develop Unix - you're a
telephone company"......
Rant over - the whole thing just pisses me off !
--
Brian <brian@awfulhak.demon.co.uk>
Don't _EVER_ lose your sense of humour....