Re: UKNM: line one

[Lois Grayson]

Sara posted:


> So how are the other isps coping ????

>

> I have friends at a few isps who last year were on caviar and champagne

and

> this year are struggling to cover the mortgage.

>

> Its shit scarey out there this Christmas...

>

> Sara


I think Sara's perspective is pretty accurate. It's true, I reckon, it's

getting tougher all round. And the ISPs are beginning to struggle; last year

the iGroup (the eBusiness consultancy I worked with) calculated that the

minimum regular user base an ISP needed to be 'real' and sustain a business

model was c250,00 - so when I was mailed an IPO for an ISP boasting an

established base of just 140,000 last week the bin got a snack.


Last year I had a stand up row with a marketing person at (mobile network)

who told me that 'the internet was the future' (too many seminars love) and

that they 'had to' launch an ISP - my response was that to be an ISP you had

to provide services; hardly (mobile network)'s forte even in their own

field. This is the central problem - anyone with a sizeable database thinks

they should *own* their customers on the net too. There are just too many

ICDTs* and not enough pie - and several that are clinging on should go back

to what they're good at and leave the 'true' ISPs to carve it up. Or someone

new to come in and break the category.


*I can do thats


For the ISPs it's convergence time - FreeServe's being bought by the

French - don't let them see the whites of your eyes......


Lois (doing a lot of brand and marketing training right now until the dust

settles)



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