Re: UKNM: Not long now

[Nabil Shabka]

Does anyone out there ever wonder if chasing this 'all you can eat' flat charge

system is a complete waste of time?  In time IP telephony will surpass POTS

usage. The important point here being that it's all going to be 0's and 1's.

Data charging will become the norm, probably along the lines that Orange

pioneered - pay as you go, 10MB a month and 60MB choices.  Question arises

then, who's in better shape.  The industry over here where consumers are used

to time based charging which can be twisted to data based charging or the US

that is used to 'free' local calls?  At the rate Europe is moving, by the time

we actually have 'all you can eat' pricing we'll have moved models.


Nabil


Rick Sareen wrote:


> Looks like momentum is building :

>

> "Free" Internet access services, however, are fuelled by regulatory

> kickbacks from high priced, per minute phone charges. Despite all the hype,

> the free access business model is not the solution; it is a symptom of the

> problem of high phone rates, which if left uncorrected, will continue to

> slow adoption of the Internet and e-commerce in Europe.

>

> For this reason, AOL is working to "turn off the clock" for online

> consumers. We're speaking to governments and regulators across the EU, and

> we're working on a commercial solution as well. We aim to provide European

> consumers with the same access to cheap, flat-rate local calls as enjoyed

> in the US and won’t quit until the Internet becomes the most important and

> useful medium across Europe -- for everyone -- not just an online elite.

>

> David Phillips President & Managing Director AOL/CompuServe U.K.

>

> This is from http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/1999/19/ns-8198.html

>

> --

> Rick Sareen

> media21

> 40-42 Scrutton Street,  London, EC2A 4QL

> T: 0171 377 6122  M: 0958 584 181  ICQ:34617844

>

rickmedia21 [dot] co [dot] uk (mailto:rickmedia21 [dot] co [dot] uk)

>

> A member of CUT - Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications

> Please register your support for UNMETERED calls at

> http://www.unmetered.org.uk

> 6 June 1999 - European Telecommunications Boycott


--

Nabil Shabka

BiblioTech

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London,  SW6 3EG

UK


http://www.BiblioTech.net


Tel:  44-171-384 6980

Fax:  44-171-384 6901


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