Re-posted from Dec. 2007
It occured to me to write a list of things I’ve learned about the telecommunications industry this year. I don’t know how many items I will ultimately come up with but I suspect that the list will be a combination of common sense items and realizations along with confirmations of certain principles. This list is not in any particular order.
1. The big phone companies are going to get their money – My company is a distributer for one of the biggest phone companies in the world. I’ve seen a methodical approach to locking customers into auto-renewable increasingly expensive agreements. For all of the great deals these customers received two or three years ago, the phone company is getting their money back and then some. And it’s hard to stop……even for us.
2. Do not use the Internet for your primary phone usage – This is common sense. The Internet is uncontrollable and can get clogged up at times. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to have a phone conversation when there is choppiness, delays and digital garbling. Avoid the Internet if possible. The only qualification I will add to this is that if you are working from home and have a broadband connection to connect back to the corporate, non-Internet, VoIP platform……it can make sense.
3. All telecom companies are GOOD and BAD at the same time – I haven’t figured out the most elegant way to say this yet. But I have had various problems with every telecom provider I have ever dealt with AND I have had great experiences with every one of them. What does that mean? I’m not sure. But I can say that each company has its strengths and weaknesses and I believe that, as in most things, it boils down to PEOPLE. Each company has people who are GOOD at their job and take it seriously and each company has employees who are BAD at their job. If you want to know how to make sure you get the GOOD people each time, work with a salesperson or distributor who has plenty of experience in the industry and who has a vested interest in your long term success; they know how to get things done.
4. Best quote I’ve read in a while – “The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see” – Ayn Rand, gleened from the AOMTP ’07 Comference Brief. This quote could apply to many situations but I can identify with it in my industry. Often times there is nothing that can be “explained” because the person has chosen not to see the problem.
5. Michael Jackson is trying to become the woman in this Picasso Painting – I know this is not telecom related but I discovered it this year nonetheless. Can you deny the resemblance? And the name Jacqueline………..Jackson (Jacko). Spooky!
6. The telecom industry will drive you to nuttiness – As evidenced by number five.
7. The people at the FCC need to work in this industry before they start calling the shots – Seriously, anyone who has worked in this industry for more than a day realizes how many goofy rules are in place that do nothing but make it almost impossible for a company to successfully manage their telecommunications services. I’ll save the details for another post but it is obvious to me that those who are calling the shots are not in the best position to make decisions that they think are in the best interest of the end user.
Happy New Year!!
1. The big phone companies are going to get their money – My company is a distributer for one of the biggest phone companies in the world. I’ve seen a methodical approach to locking customers into auto-renewable increasingly expensive agreements. For all of the great deals these customers received two or three years ago, the phone company is getting their money back and then some. And it’s hard to stop……even for us.
2. Do not use the Internet for your primary phone usage – This is common sense. The Internet is uncontrollable and can get clogged up at times. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to have a phone conversation when there is choppiness, delays and digital garbling. Avoid the Internet if possible. The only qualification I will add to this is that if you are working from home and have a broadband connection to connect back to the corporate, non-Internet, VoIP platform……it can make sense.
3. All telecom companies are GOOD and BAD at the same time – I haven’t figured out the most elegant way to say this yet. But I have had various problems with every telecom provider I have ever dealt with AND I have had great experiences with every one of them. What does that mean? I’m not sure. But I can say that each company has its strengths and weaknesses and I believe that, as in most things, it boils down to PEOPLE. Each company has people who are GOOD at their job and take it seriously and each company has employees who are BAD at their job. If you want to know how to make sure you get the GOOD people each time, work with a salesperson or distributor who has plenty of experience in the industry and who has a vested interest in your long term success; they know how to get things done.
4. Best quote I’ve read in a while – “The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see” – Ayn Rand, gleened from the AOMTP ’07 Comference Brief. This quote could apply to many situations but I can identify with it in my industry. Often times there is nothing that can be “explained” because the person has chosen not to see the problem.
5. Michael Jackson is trying to become the woman in this Picasso Painting – I know this is not telecom related but I discovered it this year nonetheless. Can you deny the resemblance? And the name Jacqueline………..Jackson (Jacko). Spooky!
6. The telecom industry will drive you to nuttiness – As evidenced by number five.
7. The people at the FCC need to work in this industry before they start calling the shots – Seriously, anyone who has worked in this industry for more than a day realizes how many goofy rules are in place that do nothing but make it almost impossible for a company to successfully manage their telecommunications services. I’ll save the details for another post but it is obvious to me that those who are calling the shots are not in the best position to make decisions that they think are in the best interest of the end user.
Happy New Year!!