Re: ISPs in trouble? (fwd)

Matthew S. Crocker (matthew@crocker.com)
Wed, 13 Nov 1996 11:53:47 -0500 (EST)

> Well we sure picked a shitty business to get into. It appears we're
> competing against everyone from local telcos to AOL and MSN. Heck, as I
> write this, I'm watching a commercial where AT&T is selling services to
> get businesses online. A few minutes before, it was Discovery Online.

Find a niche and it won't be a shitty business ;)

> It's one thing to be competing with large companies, but it's another
> altogether to be competing with a company that can take advantage of
> internal pricing to get ahead.
>
> So why don't we do something about it? It appears to me (and I've said
> this before, and others have said it before me) that the only way the
> independant ISP is going to survive is by uniting and forming a strong
> lobby who has the power to make sure that these anti-trust issues are kept
> under control. Has anyone started such a "lobby" or club? It appears if
> enough ISPs can make small contributions the financial power of them as a
> whole could make us the strongest presence on the net, which is what we
> should be.

CIX ?
IDEA?
IDS?

We are CIX members and they have done A LOT to help the industry.

-Matt