MFS WorldCom/WilTel/LDDS

Thu Aug 29 02:59:46 UTC 1996

  Edward,

  Certainly it is possible to build a network in increments, and
  maintain both profitability and customer satisfaction.  Companies
  that don't maintain both do not last very long.  Building a
  network, filling it and oversubscribing to saturation is silly.

  The interesting thing here is to discuss what is profitability,
  and what is the expected level of customer satisfaction?  {and
  what is long?}

  Rarely do folks make direct profit on everything they do.
  Investments are needed, and with the maturation of those
  investments, comes the payoff.  If the payoff is greater, there is
  the profit.  When folks are looking for payoff is very, very
  interesting.  {hint hint}

  Customer satisfaction is another dynamic vessel, which often
  is far, far lower than what we expect it to be.....  I don't
  build networks for that [low of a] level of satisfaction, but
  reality has shown me that the bulk of customers have
  expectations far lower than I would have, as a customer.
  Certainly there are customers that want 99.9999% uptime and
  greater than 3 points of failure, but they are rare.
  {interesting thing here is that that expectation will rise,
  when the media stops saying how broken the internet is, and
  starts saying how wonderful it is and how reliable it is}

  Or maybe I'm off base...

  -alan

.........  Edward Henigin is rumored to have said:
] 
] 
] 	this seems to reverberate with comments made just a few days
] ago...  About how, when services are delivered at a flat rate, the
] provider's most fiscally responsible SOP is to run their network to as
] close of a breaking point as possible.  When services hit 100% resource
] usage, there is no economic loss (aside from subscribers cancelling,
] which I won't deal with here).  If, on the other hand, services are
] delivered at a metered rate, and there is demand that is greater than
] the resources available, then the difference between that demand and
] the available resources is potential revenue which is lost.
] 
] 	Unmetered usage develops an environment which puts some sort
] of backpressure on the end user, to discourage or prevent the usage
] of too much resource.
] 
] 	Metered usage develops an environment which *encourages*
] resource use.  You want to make more money, right?  If you've ever
] read Compuserve's subscriber magazine, they highlight many files they
] *want* you to download.  Why?  Because they charged a metered rate,
] and they made money on every download.
] 
] 	Think about it.
] 
] 
] 	The journalist may be stupid, but the point has some merit.
] 
] 
] 	Ed
] 
] --
] On Wed, 28 Aug 1996, Jeremy Porter wrote:
] 
] > "... Without usaged-based charges service
] > providers are called on to upgrade their infrastructure with no clear promise of a return on investment."
] 
] 