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The MCI hub in Colorado Springs in the 90s was like something out of a movie. And everyone that worked there seemed to think they were actors in a big movie. An

The MCI hub in Colorado Springs in the 90s was like something out of a movie. And everyone that worked there seemed to think they were actors in a big movie. And the Northwestern Bell / US West / Qwest people were funny, too. Both sides really did talk and act like they were the rulers of the world, and actually hated each other with a passion, but I wonder how often they go to visit the graves of uu.net or others like it. Oh, that's right, most of them were laid off or quit decades ago. As an old voice guy, it's still hilarious to me that AT&T and Verizon are the two biggest players in cell phones, which probably carry most of the data to end users. The IP guys didn't really figure that one out until it was too late. So they won the protocol fight, but didn't get paid.

kev009 8y ago
It’s somewhat generous to call either of these the same companies as their wireline namesakes
adventured 8y ago
> The IP guys didn't really figure that one out until it was too late. So they won the protocol fight, but didn't get paid. AT&T collapsed and was reborn through mergers and slapping the facade name on a new entity, ending up in the present form as another soon to be bankrupt gigantic pile of debt with zero growth. Meanwhile all the money went to the IP world: Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Cisco, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Samsung, etc. The IP world saw all the value gain, AT&T and Verizon - once you tally the debt, debt interest, mergers - have seen zero inflation adjusted gain in either their businesses or their stock market values in 20 years. > AT&T and Verizon are the two biggest players in cell phones You're incorrectly assessing where most of the money is in phones, which led you to the incorrect end conclusion about AT&T and Verizon being the ones who got paid. Apple all by itself is deriving more value from cell phones than AT&T and Verizon combined. Google search via mobile is generating ~$30 billion per year in operating income, that's more than Verizon is making from its entire mobile segment. Facebook got nearly all of its ~$24 billion in operating income over the prior four quarters from mobile. The IP/Netheads are the only ones who actually got paid.

kev009 8y ago

It’s somewhat generous to call either of these the same companies as their wireline namesakes

adventured 8y ago

> The IP guys didn't really figure that one out until it was too late. So they won the protocol fight, but didn't get paid. AT&T collapsed and was reborn through mergers and slapping the facade name on a new entity, ending up in the present form as another soon to be bankrupt gigantic pile of debt with zero growth. Meanwhile all the money went to the IP world: Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Cisco, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Samsung, etc. The IP world saw all the value gain, AT&T and Verizon - once you tally the debt, debt interest, mergers - have seen zero inflation adjusted gain in either their businesses or their stock market values in 20 years. > AT&T and Verizon are the two biggest players in cell phones You're incorrectly assessing where most of the money is in phones, which led you to the incorrect end conclusion about AT&T and Verizon being the ones who got paid. Apple all by itself is deriving more value from cell phones than AT&T and Verizon combined. Google search via mobile is generating ~$30 billion per year in operating income, that's more than Verizon is making from its entire mobile segment. Facebook got nearly all of its ~$24 billion in operating income over the prior four quarters from mobile. The IP/Netheads are the only ones who actually got paid.