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Hey Commonwealth Edison! - Wan'na make some real by John J. Fanning
Most people who know me know that I don't particularly like Chicago's big utilities.
To say the least, the service given to Chicago by our electric, telephone and
gas companies leaves a whole lot to be desired.
Where I live, I can't get DSL computer line service because Ameritech refuses
to upgrade service in my area. There are so many candles in our house to prepare
us for the inevitable power outages (about 6 per year), that we could supply
our own wax museum! And finally, the gas company, that we pay a service fee
to so that they can purchase the needed gas supplies, seems hell bent on buying
natural gas from convenience stores and passing the high costs on to us!
I have spent the better part of my free time complaining to every company and
government regulator that exists. As you might expect, I have gotten no response.
So I have decided to take another approach. I have decided to make Commonwealth
Edison even richer than they already are. At the same time, I hope to wake-up
these other utilities.
Why, you may ask, would I possibly want to make more money for this behemoth?
Well I have come to the conclusion that the only way we can possibly get some
improvement is to tell some of these utility executives how to make money. You
see, I have come to the conclusion that these guys have spent so many years
sucking the fat out of their protected regulated monopolies, that they just
don't know about things like: "competition", "customer service" and "earning
a living". I mean, since deregulation they just haven't learned that they can
no longer conduct business by slapping politician's backs in their United Center
skyboxes. They are in-fact: "Capitalistically Impaired".
So, after exhausting all hope of seeing any improvement come from complaining,
and idle threats by Illinois politicians, I have come to believe that the only
way to get better service, is to dangle a few million dollars on the end of
a stick, and lead these guys in the right direction. And the right direction
that I see is one that leads all of these utilities into direct competition
with one another!
If Commonwealth Edison a.k.a. Unicom, Ameritech and Peoples Energy all go head-to-head
into competition with one another, we have nothing to lose! If they tear each
other apart, we can't be any worst off than we are now! In fact, starting from
ground zero may be the best thing that could ever happen. On the other hand,
if they are forced into competing with each other, there is a chance (albeit
a slim one) that one of these outfits might actually learn to compete in a free
market! And to do that, they will have to learn to value us as customers! They
may even learn the meaning of those vague and obscure ideas like "service",
"reliability" and "earning a living".
So here's my idea Commonwealth Edison! It's free and I guarantee that this
idea will actually make you money (unlike a few other Unicom brainstorms I could
mention).
Provide high-speed Internet access through your power grid!!!!!
That's right! You already have everyone in the Chicago area wired! You already
have a jump on most competitors. And, in-fact, you can provide Internet access
service which would be 2 to 10 Mps. That's faster than DSL service! So even
if Ameritech ever got off it's butt and started providing service, you would
still be offering a faster better service!
Now I want you to know that this idea of mine is not at all original. There
is actually a utility company doing it. The company is RWE Powerline. They are
in Germany. They have been providing this fast Internet access service through
their power grid for 4-years. And in-fact, the idea of passing data over power
lines is years older than that. Power companies like yours have been sending
your own internal messages that way for years! The way it works is you send
data over your grid just like electricity (electricity is that stuff that you
sometimes send over your grid). When it gets to a substation, you step down
the power through special transformers that feed users ("User" is another name
for "customer". And customer is a term used by successful companies). Anyway,
the "user" uses a special modem that can plug right into any outlet in their
home. From there a computer connects to the modem.
Already, about 12,000 customers have signed on to the service with RWE. And
their potential market is in the millions! In fact, utility companies in Spain
are now moving to duplicate the RWE Internet service plan.
So there it is Unicom! You have the infrastructure, the capital, and a whole
lot of people in your customer service department that haven't worked in years.
This is your golden opportunity! Think about it - You could wind up bringing
Ameritech to their knees! You could even wind up owning their skyboxes!
As for you folks at Ameritech, I don't want to leave you out in the cold. I
also have an idea that could make you millions. Why don't you provide DSL service
to customers in Chicago! I mean customers like me that want it, are willing
to pay for it, but just can't have it because you guys don't have the equipment
in place to provide it. I know this might seem like a radical idea, but again
it's not original either. It's actually being done successfully in other countries
and even in other U.S. cities.
Of course if this isn't an option for you, I have a second idea for you to
make money. That idea is to watch Unicom. If you see them deciding to take up
my suggestion on providing fast Internet service over their grid, buy their
stock.
submitted by:
John J. Fanning
Copyright 2001
All rights reserved
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