Firefox Founders: "We want to make money..." 10161

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On Sat, 6 Aug 2005 21:27:16 +0100,

arpu?

As I said, there are always constraints.

There are many. Not side by side, but from point A, to Point B, alternative rail services were available in many places around the US. Moreover, the railroads competed with more than just other railroads.

Not in the US they weren't. It wasn't until the 1920's when what became Ma Bell was buying up their compebreastors, that this was generally the case (that there were regional monoplies)

As an amusing sidenote, the invention of direct dialing, was made by a Kansas City mortician, who was worried that his compebreastors were paying the operators to direct calls for his business, to themselves.

Where? your telco claim? as I said, not a monopoly here until the fed stepped in, same for rail service. Did you have any actual examples?

Bingo! monopolies die, I am glad to see you are finally coming to grips with that.

please rephrase, this makes no sense to me.

And yet, here in the US, with, as you claim, a younger deregulated market, we have numerous thriving compebreastors for both landline, and wireless markets.

Of course, your definition of "deregulated" seems to include some rather heavily regulated businesses.

Only govt intervention can make the final consolidation. Otherwise someone else steps in.

There was one supplier of satellite launches in the US, the govt, that is no longer the case, there was one supplier of vacuum tubes in the us for quite some time, RCA (I am pretty sure it was them.) that didn't last, sub manufactureres started at Holland (name, not province) and spread from there. You asked for examples of "one into many" without govt intervention, these were some of them, there are numerous others.

At one point, long distance telephone service in the US was a regulated monopoly, with high prices, and crappy service. Now, after the govt (partly) got out of the way, it's a thriving, vibrant free market with hundreds if not thousands of suppliers.

Except they *do* exist. Telephones sidestepped the landlines, and went to wireless. You can get T1 lines to your business from any number of suppliers here, not just the phone company. You want two different fibre channels to your office ? from different companies? no problem.

Except they aren't. Here in the pac NW for example, we have *more* beer choices, food choices, clothes, and any other good I can think of, than there were 20 years ago. Sure, some of the old brands are dead, or absorbed, and new ones are cropping up all the time. Furthermore, if you look closer, you find the most vibrant markets are the unregulated ones, the more regulation in the market, the fewer companies there are, govt costs of regulation are a drain on business, and this is reflected in the reluctance to enter heavily regulated markets.

then give me a freaking example! so far, the closest you have come, is by pointing to govt enforced monopolies.

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