What Was the Most Significant Development – Positive or Negative – in the Competitive Landscape in the Last Decade?

“You know I am always going take a crack at surcharges when you ask me this question! Prices have fallen to the point where we have to sell two or three times as much as we did in the past just to make the same amount of money. So, prices fall and surcharges have gone up. But we don't get paid on surcharges.”

— Bill Leutzinger, President, TelecomMedic

“The most positive development was that most network service providers currently are embracing the indirect channel and providing the support necessary to enable the channel to grow. The most significant development [on the negative side] is that the positive did not happen sooner and that ALL the providers are not in support of the channel.”

— Geoffrey Shepstone, President, Telecom Brokerage Inc.

“The most significant development in the past decade was the consolidation that took place among ILECs which has changed the competitive landscape. As a result of the ILEC consolidation, CLECs began a move to consolidation and have also sought alternatives to the last mile including building their own fiber and using fixed wireless.”

— Adam Edwards, President, Telarus Inc.

“The ‘nuclear winter’ where the industry took a dive with financial scandals, etc. and had an incredibly bad name was the most negative and embarrassing thing that has happened to the industry. This put a black eye on the industry and all agents had to prove themselves. On the flip side, this was a good thing for those agencies who were able to execute their vision with efficiency, leading-edge technology and diverse portfolios due to providers having less support for customers.”

— Vince Bradley, CEO, World Telecom Group

“In the past decade, the most significant development in the competitive landscape of the communications industry was the end of the UNE-P framework. This altered the makeup of the industry’s competitive landscape and altered the direction of participants. The approval of the consolidation of large U.S. providers was significant, but the change in regulatory schematic impacted more industry participants.

— Philip Josephson, Founder, the Law Office of Philip Josephson

“The most significant development in the competitive landscape in the last decade, unfortunately, has been the failure to achieve the open competition envisioned by the Communications Act of 1996. When the act was signed into law, our industry experienced a boom that has yet to be repeated. In my opinion, the FCC moved too quickly in allowing the RBOCs into the long-distance market, instead of waiting until the IXCs had established a meaningful presence in the local service markets. In addition, the reconsolidation (though FCC-approved mergers) of the RBOCs has essentially undone Judge Greene’s order to ‘break up’ Ma Bell. Unfortunately, we seem to have come full circle.”

— Greg Taylor, Attorney, Technology Law Group LLC