nanog mailing list archives
Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?"
From: David Barak <thegameiam () yahoo com>
Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 20:39:32 -0800 (PST)
--- JC Dill <lists05 () equinephotoart com> wrote:
David Barak wrote:--- Owen DeLong <owen () delong com> wrote:Is that still true if the "adequate" service is being provided at a price which is two to three times what it should be costing and the providerisenjoying the ability to do this because nobody else is in the market space?I'm confused. Earlier in this thread you werearguingthat the current providers were keeping priced artificially LOW.They are keeping prices artificially low now, to drive out the competition. They will raise prices once they have no competition, as monopoly companies always have done in the past. Standard free market behavior is for a large company to cut prices (when they can, when they have income from some other source to afford this tactic) to drive the competition out of business. Then once they have a monopoly to raise prices (and thus profits). Check out the price for Microsoft software over the years. As their products each became a de facto monopoly in their market the prices went WAY up.
Windows 98 price (in 1997) -> $209 Office 97 Standard (in 1997) -> $689 Windows XP price (now) -> $199. Office 2003 (now) -> $399. Want to try that again? The problems most people have with microsoft's monopoly status have nothing whatsoever to do with the price of the software which forms the basis of their monopoly (windows + office), but rather their willingness to use the profits from them to subsidize other losing ventures to drive out other competitors. The argument regarding ILECs is reversed. I appreciate the citation of Standard Oil, but it is a fallacy to think that there is a one-to-one mapping between SO and any/all of the ILECs. Assertions that "monopolies do X and they're bad, and we know that Y will eventually do bad because they're a monopoly" are circular. David Barak Need Geek Rock? Try The Franchise: http://www.listentothefranchise.com __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com
Current thread:
- RE: What do we mean when we say "competition?" (was: Re: [Latest draft of Internet regulation bill]), (continued)
- RE: What do we mean when we say "competition?" (was: Re: [Latest draft of Internet regulation bill]) Sean Donelan (Nov 15)
- RE: What do we mean when we say "competition?" (was: Re: [Latest draft of Internet regulation bill]) Owen DeLong (Nov 16)
- RE: What do we mean when we say "competition?" (was: Re: [Latest draft of Internet regulation bill]) David Schwartz (Nov 16)
- RE: What do we mean when we say "competition?" (was: Re: [Latest draft of Internet regulation bill]) Michael . Dillon (Nov 16)
- RE: What do we mean when we say "competition?" (was: Re: [Latest draft of Internet regulation bill]) Owen DeLong (Nov 16)
- RE: What do we mean when we say "competition?" (was: Re: [Latest draft of Internet regulation bill]) David Schwartz (Nov 15)
- RE: What do we mean when we say "competition?" (was: Re: [Latest draft of Internet regulation bill]) Owen DeLong (Nov 16)
- RE: What do we mean when we say "competition?" (was: Re: [Latest draft of Internet regulation bill]) David Schwartz (Nov 16)
- RE: What do we mean when we say "competition?" David Barak (Nov 16)
- Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?" JC Dill (Nov 16)
- Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?" David Barak (Nov 16)
- Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?" Owen DeLong (Nov 16)
- Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?" David Barak (Nov 16)
- Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?" Owen DeLong (Nov 16)
- RE: What do we mean when we say "competition?" David Schwartz (Nov 17)
- Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?" Matthew Crocker (Nov 17)
- Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?" Henry Yen (Nov 26)
- Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?" Robert E . Seastrom (Nov 26)
- Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?" Steve Sobol (Nov 26)
- Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?" Owen DeLong (Nov 26)
- Re: What do we mean when we say "competition?" Steve Sobol (Nov 27)