Comments on: The Flawed Delusion of Telco 2.0 http://stardustglobalventures.com/2009/01/04/the-flawed-delusion-of-telco-20/ Home of Sheryl Breuker Media & Ken Camp Consulting Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:48:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Stardust Global Ventures » Changing Paradigms? or Evolutionizing the Industry? http://stardustglobalventures.com/2009/01/04/the-flawed-delusion-of-telco-20/comment-page-1/#comment-2813 Stardust Global Ventures » Changing Paradigms? or Evolutionizing the Industry? Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:50:51 +0000 http://stardustglobalventures.com/?p=339#comment-2813 [...] long ago, I stirred a bit of a hornet’s next when I spoke out about The Flawed Delusion of Telco 2.0, a problem I still believe in passionately. The telco paradigm is old and stale, Extending the [...] [...] long ago, I stirred a bit of a hornet’s next when I spoke out about The Flawed Delusion of Telco 2.0, a problem I still believe in passionately. The telco paradigm is old and stale, Extending the [...]

]]> By: Stardust Global Ventures » Dominate Unified Communcations by Thinking Small http://stardustglobalventures.com/2009/01/04/the-flawed-delusion-of-telco-20/comment-page-1/#comment-2237 Stardust Global Ventures » Dominate Unified Communcations by Thinking Small Sun, 08 Feb 2009 04:49:41 +0000 http://stardustglobalventures.com/?p=339#comment-2237 [...] part, this is an expansion of some ideas I expressed recently in The Flawed Delusion of Telco 2.0 and then again in More on the Death of the Telco Paradigm. And while those posts didn’t [...] [...] part, this is an expansion of some ideas I expressed recently in The Flawed Delusion of Telco 2.0 and then again in More on the Death of the Telco Paradigm. And while those posts didn’t [...]

]]> By: Jiri Kuthan http://stardustglobalventures.com/2009/01/04/the-flawed-delusion-of-telco-20/comment-page-1/#comment-2024 Jiri Kuthan Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:09:24 +0000 http://stardustglobalventures.com/?p=339#comment-2024 I remember a great fairy-tale from my childhood about a duck that aspired to become a giraffe; almost in any nation there are some variations of it. What strikes me is that there are so many who are still excited by giraffized ducks, forget their good senses and principles of separation. I mean many of the web/2 applications are very exciting. However I think it would not be logical to assume that web/2 or telco/2 is either an evolution or competition or desired extension/giraffe to telco/1 world. The telco/1 world is indeed about pipes, that produces predictable revenues. The technology is being transformed from copper to wireless, non-IP to all-IP but it remains the same infrastructure business: critical, with barriers around it, revenue-generating, and also little exciting compared to consumer applications. All the 2.0 stories are IMO something completely different -- they seek to produce consumer excitement. They are largely experimental (which is a good thing -- what would innovation be without trying) but rarely revenue-producing. Based on that: - do I think 2.0 concepts are a good thing? Certainly yes. The open Internet environment allows for anyone to start offering applications to the whole world without a huge financial barrier. Rather few have a sound concept and come out as winners which is in contrast to the 2.0 hype. However that's rather the hype's failure than of those who produce the actual success stories. - are 2.0 concepts a threat to 1.0 companies? I don't think so -- I think it is a completely different space. Actually 2.0's bandwidth consumption stimulates 1.0 businesses. - are 2.0 concepts appealing to 1.0 companies? Some think so but I fail to see why. But maybe gas and power supply companies will begin offering some killer applications to consumer soon too? - is there no connecting point between 1.0 and 2.0? I see very few if any. I can imagine that once a company, be it 1.0 or 2.0, reaches a critical mass of subscribers its retailer dimension begins to be more important than the technological. Then reselling someone else's goods in addition to its own may be appealing. In fact I can imagine 1.0 as charging companies collecting fees for all sort of third party services. In Prague, I pay by SMS for public transportation, in Berlin for parking lots. In summary, I think 1.0 and 2.0 are very different things from every possible point of view of a business model and the 2.0 concepts cannot be blessed or discounted as whole without intimate knowledge of the specific thing. I remember a great fairy-tale from my childhood about a duck that aspired to become a giraffe; almost in any nation there are some variations of it. What strikes me is that there are so many who are still excited by giraffized ducks, forget their good senses and principles of separation. I mean many of the web/2 applications are very exciting. However I think it would not be logical to assume that web/2 or telco/2 is either an evolution or competition or desired extension/giraffe to telco/1 world. The telco/1 world is indeed about pipes, that produces predictable revenues. The technology is being transformed from copper to wireless, non-IP to all-IP but it remains the same infrastructure business: critical, with barriers around it, revenue-generating, and also little exciting compared to consumer applications.

All the 2.0 stories are IMO something completely different — they seek to produce consumer excitement. They are largely experimental (which is a good thing — what would innovation be without trying) but rarely revenue-producing.

Based on that:
- do I think 2.0 concepts are a good thing? Certainly yes. The open Internet environment allows for anyone to start offering applications to the whole world without a huge financial barrier. Rather few have a sound concept and come out as winners which is in contrast to the 2.0 hype. However that’s rather the hype’s failure than of those who produce the actual success stories.
- are 2.0 concepts a threat to 1.0 companies? I don’t think so — I think it is a completely different space. Actually 2.0’s bandwidth consumption stimulates 1.0 businesses.
- are 2.0 concepts appealing to 1.0 companies? Some think so but I fail to see why. But maybe gas and power supply companies will begin offering some killer applications to consumer soon too?
- is there no connecting point between 1.0 and 2.0? I see very few if any. I can imagine that once a company, be it 1.0 or 2.0, reaches a critical mass of subscribers its retailer dimension begins to be more important than the technological. Then reselling someone else’s goods in addition to its own may be appealing. In fact I can imagine 1.0 as charging companies collecting fees for all sort of third party services. In Prague, I pay by SMS for public transportation, in Berlin for parking lots.

In summary, I think 1.0 and 2.0 are very different things from every possible point of view of a business model and the 2.0 concepts cannot be blessed or discounted as whole without intimate knowledge of the specific thing.

]]> By: Stardust Global Ventures » Of Telcos and VoIP and Communications http://stardustglobalventures.com/2009/01/04/the-flawed-delusion-of-telco-20/comment-page-1/#comment-2004 Stardust Global Ventures » Of Telcos and VoIP and Communications Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:01:33 +0000 http://stardustglobalventures.com/?p=339#comment-2004 [...] in the month, my friend and respected thinker Ken Camp posited that Telco 2.0 was a flawed delusion, and I cried foul. (OK, I cried bullshit - and all I’ll say about that is that I won’t hesitate [...] [...] in the month, my friend and respected thinker Ken Camp posited that Telco 2.0 was a flawed delusion, and I cried foul. (OK, I cried bullshit – and all I’ll say about that is that I won’t hesitate [...]

]]> By: Thomas Howe » The Smart Money’s on the Telcos http://stardustglobalventures.com/2009/01/04/the-flawed-delusion-of-telco-20/comment-page-1/#comment-1999 Thomas Howe » The Smart Money’s on the Telcos Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:55:46 +0000 http://stardustglobalventures.com/?p=339#comment-1999 [...] is always slurred. Earlier in the month, my friend and respected thinker Ken Camp posited that Telco 2.0 was a flawed delusion, and I cried foul. (OK, I cried bullshit - and all I’ll say about that is that I won’t hesitate [...] [...] is always slurred. Earlier in the month, my friend and respected thinker Ken Camp posited that Telco 2.0 was a flawed delusion, and I cried foul. (OK, I cried bullshit – and all I’ll say about that is that I won’t hesitate [...]

]]> By: Thomas Howe » Ok - That’s Enough Bullsh*t for Me http://stardustglobalventures.com/2009/01/04/the-flawed-delusion-of-telco-20/comment-page-1/#comment-1937 Thomas Howe » Ok - That’s Enough Bullsh*t for Me Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:13:10 +0000 http://stardustglobalventures.com/?p=339#comment-1937 [...] Ken Camp’s post calling Telco 2.0 a flawed delusion, I’ve been ruminating on his premise and his arguments [...] [...] Ken Camp’s post calling Telco 2.0 a flawed delusion, I’ve been ruminating on his premise and his arguments [...]

]]> By: Stardust Global Ventures » Leapfrogging the Telco Paradigm http://stardustglobalventures.com/2009/01/04/the-flawed-delusion-of-telco-20/comment-page-1/#comment-1933 Stardust Global Ventures » Leapfrogging the Telco Paradigm Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:33:34 +0000 http://stardustglobalventures.com/?p=339#comment-1933 [...] few days ago I posted The Flawed Delusion of Telco 2.0 in an effort to make a point. The point’s really a simple one. We desperately need a paradigm [...] [...] few days ago I posted The Flawed Delusion of Telco 2.0 in an effort to make a point. The point’s really a simple one. We desperately need a paradigm [...]

]]> By: Ken http://stardustglobalventures.com/2009/01/04/the-flawed-delusion-of-telco-20/comment-page-1/#comment-1932 Ken Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:10:06 +0000 http://stardustglobalventures.com/?p=339#comment-1932 Thanks so much for some really valuable comments Rich. I'm going to carry them forward into yet another post to keep this conversation moving. Thanks so much for some really valuable comments Rich. I’m going to carry them forward into yet another post to keep this conversation moving.

]]> By: Rich Tehrani http://stardustglobalventures.com/2009/01/04/the-flawed-delusion-of-telco-20/comment-page-1/#comment-1931 Rich Tehrani Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:31:38 +0000 http://stardustglobalventures.com/?p=339#comment-1931 Ken, this is an excellent analysis and I agree with much of it. The mindset argument makes a great deal of sense as well as the concept of polar opposites which represent traditional telcos and social media companies. But in the end is the nomenclature that important or is it a state of mind we need to be concerned with? I consider Skype to be a telco 2.0 company because it does embrace social media and telephony. Do you agree? Doesn’t the 2.0 at the end of the term telco allow telecom to transcend the chasm to social media and what’s next? To me it does but I understand how the term telco is limiting. I think I felt the same way as you the first time I heard the term IP Centrex… They may as well have called it rocket-powered horse and buggy transportation. Ken, this is an excellent analysis and I agree with much of it. The mindset argument makes a great deal of sense as well as the concept of polar opposites which represent traditional telcos and social media companies. But in the end is the nomenclature that important or is it a state of mind we need to be concerned with?

I consider Skype to be a telco 2.0 company because it does embrace social media and telephony. Do you agree?

Doesn’t the 2.0 at the end of the term telco allow telecom to transcend the chasm to social media and what’s next? To me it does but I understand how the term telco is limiting.

I think I felt the same way as you the first time I heard the term IP Centrex… They may as well have called it rocket-powered horse and buggy transportation.

]]> By: Ken http://stardustglobalventures.com/2009/01/04/the-flawed-delusion-of-telco-20/comment-page-1/#comment-1929 Ken Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:51:28 +0000 http://stardustglobalventures.com/?p=339#comment-1929 If the words alone didn't raise my own hackles, I really want to say it's time to shift the paradigm. The Telco Paradigm just isn't viable any longer. But getting people to think/talk/act in new terms across such broad industry is a real challenge. If the words alone didn’t raise my own hackles, I really want to say it’s time to shift the paradigm. The Telco Paradigm just isn’t viable any longer. But getting people to think/talk/act in new terms across such broad industry is a real challenge.

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