Rodent Regatta

Yesterday saw a lot of news coverage of the deal Aruba Networks has struck with Microsoft. It appears Microsoft is replacing its old (1999) Aironet gear with a completely new technology. This is interesting stuff and probably an excellent model for anyone contemplating a serious, campus-wide wireless network.

Why we perpetuate bad ideas just because we embraced them once is beyond me. The government has no justification for subsidizing telecommunications as they once did. Instead, times have changed. Let the market prevail.

There’s an alternative to traditional telecommunications technologies that were difficult to get into rural parts of this country. That alternative doesn’t require a special subsidy(USF). Just get out.

You can read more about it if things like VOIP interest you.

Kevin J. Martin has been nominated by the President to be the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

This business alert from the Wall Street Journal hit my email about 11:30 a.m. today:

Ebbers was found guilty on all counts for his role in the $11 billion accounting fraud that brought down WorldCom. The former CEO could spend the rest of his life in prison.

In no investment have I ever lost as much money as with WorldCom. When you heap a fraud of this magnitude upon the difficulties created by failing to merge and integrate a hundred or more software systems, you don’t get much good.

I don’t wish a long prison stay for this 63 year-old, because the lost pride and the lost riches have clearly taken their toll. However, something must be done to discourage those who haven’t yet achieved real riches from using this path.

* * * UPDATE * * * By 1:30 p.m. the Wall Street Journal had sent this:

Securities regulators sued Joseph P. Nacchio, the former chief executive of Qwest Communications, and six other former executives, accusing them of engaging in a “massive financial fraud.”

Most estimates indicate that IP traffic continues to grow at rates exceeding 50% per year. Yet, we have the following situations unfolding as we speak:

• Carl Icahn owns around 65% of XO Communications with no clear game plan announced. The company currently operates as a traditional CLEC.
• SBC is buying AT&T for around $16 billion.
• Qwest is negotiating to buy MCI for around $6.3 billion, but has $17.2 billion of debt already.
• RCNC went bankrupt.
• David McCourt has resigned from boards at Level 3 and CTE.
• Level 3 trades at $2.97 from a high of $130 with over 100% share dilution.
• Vonage and Skype continue to make inroads at the consumer level.
• Cisco continues to preach VoIP.
• 1.5Mbps costs an American consumer about $45 per month.
• Leucadia/WilTel are private and quiet at the moment.
• MCI holds the tattered remains of what was once at $180 billion combination of Worldcom and MCI.
• Sprint is paying $35 billion for Nextel.

Can anyone see an endgame in all of this?