First in maybe a recurring Series.So let me first clarify..I’m a sales guy at heart. I’m not your IP guru who will program the Cisco to do magic. But, I’ve been around the block for a while. And I have seen many providers come (and go). So I feel like I have some opinion on things. Usually, it’s a skewed opinion. But there are enough straight shooters on our blog that I can afford to be the smarty on a subject. Which leads me to the inaugural topic:
Volume 1: Who is Left?
Oh sure, there are a lot of names out there. And if you are like any other company, you get calls/spam from a good number of them. But who is really out there? I mean, didn’t the last five years or see an unprecedented amount of hookups. More than Britney since K-Fed became Fed-Ex? Let’s take a look at who is around the bar at 2am.
AT&T (aka, AT&T, Bell, Bell South, Pacific Bell, Ameritech, SBC…)- the big daddy. The one your boss will never fire you for buying. If you are big enough, try finding a pipe worthy of your size in the right market. I was also never a fan of the Death Star logo. Maybe cause so many copied it (see Cable & Wireless). Also, I really don’t like Oasis, who is featured way too prominently in their ad campaign.
Verizon (nee, Bell Atlantic/NYNEX, also goes by MCI and/or UUNet) – Well, I like their cell service. I also liked the UUNet name. Know why it was called “UUnet”? Answer below.
Level (3) – So I can never remember the reason they do the (3), and not just “3”. At one time, I thought it was cause of the number of companies they wanted to buy. Then I realized, it was prolly the number they were buying in a given week. Heck of a compilation of talent recently: LookingGlass, WilTel, Broadwing, Progress Telecom, ICG, TelCove, Genuity. Good network. I think “IP” to them means “Increased Pricing”. But they are cornering the market on last mile plays. Not so goofy as they would appear to be. Oh wait…its 11am..must be another Senior Note offering on their part.
Sprint- They still do IP for the common man? I think so. Someone correct me if I’m wrong. And I liked the red color scheme better than yellow. I mean, c’mon, who bought who here?
Global Crossing- I used them once in a former life. They were ok. But they have the death star logo too. Copy cats.
Cogent. So to me, they’re kinda like the WhiteSox. They want to be in contention. They get a lot of people aware of them. They shake up their roster in the off seasons (Allied Riser, OnSite Access, Fiber City, Fiber Network Solutions, Applied Theory, LambdaNet France and Spain, Carrier1, Unlimited Fiber Optics, Global Access, Aleron, NTT/Verio, Netrail, PSINet). Some of the moves work (think Jermaine Dye and Allied Riser). Some don’t (think David Wells and Applied Theory). Just waiting to see what the end game is. Win the big one, or sell the company.
Qwest. Nice spelling. Owns OnFiber now. That was a nice metroE play for a bit. Still can never get a call back from an account rep. They do Internet2, so that has to mean the IP is good, ya think? But they did have the best former CEO with a hairpiece.
SAVVIS. I like the name. its savvy. But always looked like S-a-w-i-s too, which confused me. I dunno, they’re ok. Don’t know of too many people over there. Thought they’d play just Financials. Then they got WHAM!Net (Andrew Ridgely was not part of the transaction) and I thought they’d go content. Then, they dumped content. Much like single guys, I see them playing the field for a while and then maturing.
XO – I never know where to list them. Yeah, the old Hug and Kiss has its own IP. And they’re “…bringing Concentric back” (sing it to SexyBack..seems funnier then). So lets start a company, merging together Concentric and NEXTLINK. But, let’s take one random letter from each name to form the company. Had to take the “X”, didn’t ya? Ok, well, then..um..lets use the “O”..aww, so cute.
Everyone else- Kinda buys from the aforementioned. Really, they do. yIPes (Always liked the IP spelling in the middle, just in case I forgot they do sell transit), InterNAP, and pick a tier 2-3 provider.
Hopefully, this trip down memory lane at least gave you a sense of the history of how we got to this point. And ya never know, by the time this is posted, it may all change yet again.
Luppy’s Quiz Answer: UUNet- Derived its name from Usenet and UUCP. See, I know things!
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