The Angriest CEO In Telecom

Ramblings

from the why-won't-the-government-protect-my-business-model dept

I spent much of the day today in a room with a bunch of folks from a variety of telecom-related startups – mostly in the VoIP space. Much of the conversation was focused on dealing with the big old telecom companies that are preventing VoIP (or other related technologies) from really catching on, while at the same time trying to figure out how companies are going to make money in this new world. Now Fortune is running a profile of Ed Whitacre of SBC, who has been the loudest of the Baby Bell CEOs in yelling about why the government needs to prop up his failing business model. The interesting thing about both sides of this debate is that, basically, every side wants the FCC to regulate things in their favor. It always seems like a dangerous strategy, though, to have to rely on a government to do anything to help your company out. A smart business figures out a business model that minimizes the risk from such factors. Focusing on ways to build products that your customers (whether end-users or enterprises) actually can use makes more sense than whining about what the government (or some other business) is doing to prevent you from achieving your revenue goals.