>> Perhaps Ma Bell taught us lessons to avoid this time around.
I hope this is true. I'm not sure breaking up Ma Bell was a good thing long term. All they did was break them up and then all the regional bells and smaller companies just re-constituted themselves again in some other form. The deregulation created more competition, but it was short lived because of economic pressures.
For many business customers, their first dealings with local telecom companies that were competing with Qwest at the time were horrific. Business customers would lose their landline and internet service for days without any idea when it would be restored. Cutovers were problematic and a total crap shoot if they went smoothly. Qwest regularly tagged the wrong lines that needed to be cut over. The billing nightmares of moving off of Qwest to a local company were too numerous to remember. Many businesses would switch for the savings and within a few months, would switch back because it was just one thing after another these companies couldn't get right. Suddenly paying a little more for the peace of mind far outweighed any savings they were getting.
I suspect Google customers will have the same experience so I'm still on the fence whether it will be worth it long term. The one argument you can make is that Google isn't simply a company that needs competition, but that's its actually doing damage by how they manipulate their search rankings and what results they're delivering to people - so in that regard, they absolutely need to be broken up.
I hope this is true. I'm not sure breaking up Ma Bell was a good thing long term. All they did was break them up and then all the regional bells and smaller companies just re-constituted themselves again in some other form. The deregulation created more competition, but it was short lived because of economic pressures.
For many business customers, their first dealings with local telecom companies that were competing with Qwest at the time were horrific. Business customers would lose their landline and internet service for days without any idea when it would be restored. Cutovers were problematic and a total crap shoot if they went smoothly. Qwest regularly tagged the wrong lines that needed to be cut over. The billing nightmares of moving off of Qwest to a local company were too numerous to remember. Many businesses would switch for the savings and within a few months, would switch back because it was just one thing after another these companies couldn't get right. Suddenly paying a little more for the peace of mind far outweighed any savings they were getting.
I suspect Google customers will have the same experience so I'm still on the fence whether it will be worth it long term. The one argument you can make is that Google isn't simply a company that needs competition, but that's its actually doing damage by how they manipulate their search rankings and what results they're delivering to people - so in that regard, they absolutely need to be broken up.