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 Gag Me With A Privacy
Policy.
Bell Atlantic recently announced plans to suspend development of a reverse directory proposed to drive traffic to its web site. (The directory would allow users to locate name and address for a specific phone number.) 'Privacy concerns' were the motivations given. (www.infoworld.com 5/1/00 p. 41) Really? How about 'fear' and 'greed'? The database contained unpublished numbers. Had they been listed, those involved would have had a very good case for a lawsuit. Bell Atlantic already offers this service - via telephone for a fee. (OTE 11/99: Directory Service Redux) Giving it away on the web, as a way to drive traffic to a free site, and costing the company money for infrastructure and programming at the expense of an existing product - had to cross their minds.
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A Primer In 'Getting Along' With the
Bells.
One has to realize that the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) are large, bureaucratic organizations ( the obvious part) AND, unless appropriately motivated, will act nothing like the competitive enterprises they are claimed to be. If any bureaucracy is big enough (e.g. the FCC) it is virtually above the law. The former RBOCs are no exception. Consequently, it is extremely difficult to move such an organism. (The last such case was the Justice Department breakup of AT&T.) The keys to motivating a bureaucracy are:
- Perform their job for them
- Make it impossible to place blame
It may be that Royce Holland, CEO of Allegiance (formerly of Metropolitan Fiber Systems) understands this best. His model for competing in the local telephone service market is based upon an electronic provisioning system, worked out with and approved by the RBOCs, that can install circuits without intervention by the incumbent phone company. They just clock the minutes. I remember the days when Bell Atlantic technicians refused access to the toilet by MFS employees trying to perform an installation. I guess Royce remembered it too.
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