Jim Metzler, Larry Hettick, and I asked for comments on this topic in the electronic newsletters published via Network World.
In case you did not receive the newsletters, click here to view the WAN newsletter archives and here to view the Convergence newsletter archives.
My ultimate concern about the proposed merger, essentially rebuilding a substantial portion of the 'Bell System," is the impact on the enterprise/corporate network. Back in the early 1980s, when data nets were first being built, they were - for the most part - what we would now call "managed services." In the intervening twenty-plus years, however, we moved to an era in which companies began to "BYOB," meaning "Be Your Own Bell." Some of this BYOB attitude was to gain additional features and function, and some of the attitude was necessitated for survival.
Much of the popular press coverage about this merger has focused on "triple play," cellular, and access to residential customers. And while these are extremely important issues, I'm left wondering what the impact is for the members of the Webtorials community who are primarily responsible for corporate networks.
One view is that this should simplify networking by making "one-stop shopping" simpler than ever. Additionally, the creation of even stronger service providers might increase your comfort level with moving to "managed services."
At the same time, one could also argue that this will lead to less competition, thereby slowing innovation and leading to increased prices.
At this point, though, I invite you - the corporate and enterprise planners and management - to share your views. These views will be available in this forum, and we'll also share some of the views with the wider audience of readers of the Network World Fusion WAN and Convergence newsletters.
To add your views, simply click on the "comment" link below.
The proposed merger/acquisition of BellSouth by AT&T essentially rebuilds the old Bell system. My fellow analysts have a lot to say about the proposed merger, and this is the place to find out what everybody thinks.
The purpose of this discussion is both to allow commentary and to raise issues, especially as related to Enterprise networks. I hope you find these observations to be both interesting and providing food for thought.
If you wish to add a new thread, please email Steven Taylor at taylor@webtorials.com