Welcome, my first blog readers!
It took me 2 years of arguing & endless heated debates (with myself, that is) to arrive at this point in time, where I am actually writing my first post on this blog.
Looking beyond the - false!- sense of accomplishment that I finally have this little place on the web to write about what I know - or rather what I think I know - about the fascinating Telecoms industry, I realize that I am probably bargaining for too much by putting this blog together; as now I have to provide somewhat-valuable insights, ideas, and maybe some advice to the kind readers of this blog; as opposed to angry rants. While I would be sincerely surprised if more than 10 people end up reading this blog, it is still a responsibility that I intend - as much as possible - to take seriously.
Before going into the house rules (yes, even here there are rules!), I would like to spend a moment on the chosen title of this blog: "What's Wrong with Telecoms?". Nice, huh? The title tells you right away that I am no longer a big fan of the industry I chose - 15 years ago - to commit my career to. It also - in case you have not noticed - has a question mark at the end; which means - duh - it is a question!
While - to me - it is a rhetorical question - otherwise I wouldn't have written this blog - it is one that's not easily answered in one or even 20 posts. It will take some time & considerable intellectual effort for you - dear reader - to clearly see the things that an army of well-paid & super-smart Telecoms executives (supported by an even bigger army of insanely-paid & freakishly-smart consultants) don't want you to see.
But that doesn't mean that I will paint everything black. If I did, this blog wouldn't be worth reading now, would it? There are a few gems of value out there, and there are valuable hard-learned lessons about what to do to extract value in Telecoms; and even more valuable lessons about what NOT to do. Hopefully, this blog will be a way to discuss ways to apply the former lessons and how to avoid the latter ones.
Now, a few house rules:
1) This is my blog! I will write about what I think and what I learned. While I value feedback and comments, and I relish a thought-provoking discussion just like the next guy, I am not aiming to please anyone with these thoughts, nor am I seeking to be popular. I will be honest with everyone, but most importantly with myself. If you don't like what you read, feel free to leave a comment, and that's that.
2) I will try to post once a week, but I may skip a week (after all, I do have a job!). If you don't see an update one week, please don't give up, check back the next week.
3) er, I guess that's all for now!
So what's wrong with Telecoms?
A few answers (and I will expand on each one of those in boring detail in the posts to come) would be:
1) Globalization (or the illusion that it is always possible or economically viable to build a global Telco)
2) Consulting Firms (that's a big one; no wait, that's a REALLY BIG one)
3) Government Policy (whether the governments in question are regulators, or operators)
4) Emerging Markets
5) External Forces (Apple, RIM, Skype, Google, Facebook, etc.)
So there you have it. Not much insight or intelligent advice on this first post, but don't hold that against me. I am just warming up :-)
Thanks for reading, and please check back soon as I promise I will have more juicy stuff for your to think about.
Cheers, Ahmed....
It took me 2 years of arguing & endless heated debates (with myself, that is) to arrive at this point in time, where I am actually writing my first post on this blog.
Looking beyond the - false!- sense of accomplishment that I finally have this little place on the web to write about what I know - or rather what I think I know - about the fascinating Telecoms industry, I realize that I am probably bargaining for too much by putting this blog together; as now I have to provide somewhat-valuable insights, ideas, and maybe some advice to the kind readers of this blog; as opposed to angry rants. While I would be sincerely surprised if more than 10 people end up reading this blog, it is still a responsibility that I intend - as much as possible - to take seriously.
Before going into the house rules (yes, even here there are rules!), I would like to spend a moment on the chosen title of this blog: "What's Wrong with Telecoms?". Nice, huh? The title tells you right away that I am no longer a big fan of the industry I chose - 15 years ago - to commit my career to. It also - in case you have not noticed - has a question mark at the end; which means - duh - it is a question!
While - to me - it is a rhetorical question - otherwise I wouldn't have written this blog - it is one that's not easily answered in one or even 20 posts. It will take some time & considerable intellectual effort for you - dear reader - to clearly see the things that an army of well-paid & super-smart Telecoms executives (supported by an even bigger army of insanely-paid & freakishly-smart consultants) don't want you to see.
But that doesn't mean that I will paint everything black. If I did, this blog wouldn't be worth reading now, would it? There are a few gems of value out there, and there are valuable hard-learned lessons about what to do to extract value in Telecoms; and even more valuable lessons about what NOT to do. Hopefully, this blog will be a way to discuss ways to apply the former lessons and how to avoid the latter ones.
Now, a few house rules:
1) This is my blog! I will write about what I think and what I learned. While I value feedback and comments, and I relish a thought-provoking discussion just like the next guy, I am not aiming to please anyone with these thoughts, nor am I seeking to be popular. I will be honest with everyone, but most importantly with myself. If you don't like what you read, feel free to leave a comment, and that's that.
2) I will try to post once a week, but I may skip a week (after all, I do have a job!). If you don't see an update one week, please don't give up, check back the next week.
3) er, I guess that's all for now!
So what's wrong with Telecoms?
A few answers (and I will expand on each one of those in boring detail in the posts to come) would be:
1) Globalization (or the illusion that it is always possible or economically viable to build a global Telco)
2) Consulting Firms (that's a big one; no wait, that's a REALLY BIG one)
3) Government Policy (whether the governments in question are regulators, or operators)
4) Emerging Markets
5) External Forces (Apple, RIM, Skype, Google, Facebook, etc.)
So there you have it. Not much insight or intelligent advice on this first post, but don't hold that against me. I am just warming up :-)
Thanks for reading, and please check back soon as I promise I will have more juicy stuff for your to think about.
Cheers, Ahmed....
