In Memoriam: Big Telecom

摘要

We are gathered here today to pay our last respects to big telecom. Great central offices like this one once spread across the land, but now they're turning dark. The world doesn't want more T1 circuits; It wants Ethernet, IP and wireless. Big telecom wouldn't adapt. Big telecom had a long and prosperous life. Born of a desire to advance the public good, telecommunications brought people and businesses together across any distance. But it lost our trust when it started acting like a greedy monopoly. To play into our sympathies, it often talked of its charity work: offering universal coverage, providing emergency service, generating tax revenue, employing thousands. In truth, however, big telecom was only self-interested.