Victoria Speaks at Connectivity 2002
Connectivity 2002, May 21, 2002, Boston Massachusetts ISP panel
The ISPs. Chaired by Sue Ashdown of the American ISP Association. Panelists: Ira Kleiner, CEO of ProSpeed Networks. Colin King, co-founder of ProSpeed. Victoria White, CEO of eclecTechs in Northampton.
Sue: "We're beginning to see the death of the Internet service provider" because of the consolidation and now because ISPs need to obtain supply. [Artificial scarcity rears its ugly head again.] The actual title of this panel is "What happens if the ISPs don't get what they want," but Ashdown opens by asking when have ISPs ever gotten what they want? Now even the Patriot's Act adds risk to the ISPs because they can't afford attorneys to fight FBI requests for information about users.
The telephone companies have kept the ISPs out of the market by setting the price for lines to the house so high that the ISPs margins' shrink pass the point of reason. And the telephone companies through "errors of omission" make it harder for customers to accept ISPs. As a result, the Bells have 86% of the DSL market.
Ira is about to talk. His company - a CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) - delivers connectivity to underserved markets in NH and MA. Sue is now saying that she recommends against ISPs becoming CLECs because it brings them under so many regulations.
White began by building web sites; her company did 500 in about five years. "Sometimes running an ISP is like being in an MRI where you hear the field gradients, like someone shooting at you," but you don't know where it's coming from or where the next one will come. They serve a lot of seniors and since they don't require a credit card to sign up, people come into the office to pay the bill, to pay the dog, etc.
What's the value of small ISPs? Ashdown says it's in the ability to serve smaller and niche markets. The guy from Bway.com, a NYC ISP, says that the only way for smaller ISPs to survive is by adding value rather than by competing on price.
Audience: What do the local congresspeople say when you lobby them? Colin: They don't understand the technology. (Exceptions made for Markey and Hollings.)
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