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story category In The Future, ISPs Do Everything But Run Networks
Comcast jumps into travel agency relationship with Kayak.com
(old news - 09:06AM Friday Mar 06 2009)
tags: competition · business · alternatives · cable · content · Comcast
Tipped by TKJunkMail See Profile
The past several years have seen ISPs continually expand their operations away from their core competency: running networks. AT&T is developing a three dimensional browser, Time Warner Cable/Roadrunner dabbles in used car sales, while Cox has spent the last few years exploring the real estate market. One customer writes in to note that Comcast is e-mailing customers to announce a new online Travel Agency search engine -- run in partnership with Kayak. Comcast of course would argue they're now a broadband and online content company, having in the past few years launched a now-shuttered YouTube knockoff named Ziddio, and purchased Fandango, movies.com, and dailycandy.com.

Luckily, unlike other ISPs with the content bug, Comcast is at least aggressively upgrading their network first. Many other ISPs have been throwing millions at content projects at the side, while complaining that they lack the resources to keep up with a growing demand for bandwidth, consumed in part by the very content they're increasingly trafficking in.

Related:
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  4. Internet Video Still Just a Baby
  5. Verizon: Cut Your Landline To Save Money
  6. Pittsburgh City Council Approves FiOS Franchise
  7. What Network Neutrality Is REALLY About
  8. Cable Industry: Shucks, Guess Nobody Wants CableCARDs
Forums » In The Future, ISPs Do Everything But Run Networks
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Swingerhead
Premium
join:2004-04-06
Richmond, VA

Content pages

It drove me nuts back in the 90s when ISPs started doing this crap, and it still does. I dont want DOT controlling what advertizements are on billboards, just take care of the road. Just give me internet and leave it alone.

rawwhide
Zer0
Premium
join:2000-09-03
Zero
clubs:
·AT&T DSL Service

Re: Content pages

said by Swingerhead See Profile :

It drove me nuts back in the 90s when ISPs started doing this crap, and it still does. I dont want DOT controlling what advertizements are on billboards, just take care of the road. Just give me internet and leave it alone.
At least the Department of Transportation doesn't cap how many miles you drive in a month, unlike some ISP's.
--
5 fingers + a thumb......

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

Re: Content pages

Give them time... I think there's a program to start taxing mileage in addition to fuel consumption.
Both the insurance and government want your money.
I suspect a lot of companies want to resell your driving habits as well.

RARPSL

join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY

Re: Content pages

said by en102 See Profile :

Give them time... I think there's a program to start taxing mileage in addition to fuel consumption.
I have the impression that Trucks ALREADY get charged a Mileage surcharge. As to charging cars based on how far they are driven, I have a memory of reading that some state wants to install black-boxes in cars to measure this so it can be taxed.

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME

Re: Content pages

I would suspect California (ugh) if any.
Of course, this will just push for privacy lawsuits.
On the good side - traffic may actually decrease in Calfornia, as many illegal/uninsured/ vehicles may now be off the road.
--
Canada = Hollywood North
bcoleman71

join:2007-09-18
Dallas, TX

Re: Content pages

It wasn't California. It was in the north east somewhere. I want to say New Jersey but I don't know for sure if that was it...

RARPSL

join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY

Re: Content pages

said by bcoleman71 See Profile :

It wasn't California. It was in the north east somewhere. I want to say New Jersey but I don't know for sure if that was it...
I was thinking Oregon or Washington.

funchords
Hello
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Washington, DC
·Verizon Online DSL
·Skype

said by RARPSL See Profile :

As to charging cars based on how far they are driven, I have a memory of reading that some state wants to install black-boxes in cars to measure this so it can be taxed.
That would be OREGON. I think it's a virus in the capital building, they clean and they clean and still this stupid suggestion keeps coming back every year or so.

Never going to happen.
--
Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Hillsboro, Oregon -- KJ7RL
... Do something! ...

Nightshade
sic semper tyrannis
Premium
join:2002-05-26
Salem, OR

Re: Content pages

Kinda like the sales tax.

Eat Me

join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ
·PenTeleData
·Future Nine Corpor..
·VOIPo
·Vonage

said by RARPSL See Profile :

]I have the impression that Trucks ALREADY get charged a Mileage surcharge.
Just like commercial internet connections have had bandwidth charges for years now.
jjeffeory

join:2002-12-04
USA
Don't give them any ideas! There are already people 'up high' wanting to implement a tax that will basically do just this....

tschmidt
Premium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
·Hollis Hosting
·Verizon Online DSL
·Fairpoint Communic..

Network Neutrality

I don't have a problem with ISPs offering value add services. One stop shopping makes a lot of sense for some folks.

What I object to is when ISP tamper with core services only they can deliver or cross subsidize value add services to thwart competitors.

We need communication policy that separates core connectivity issues that tend to be monopolistic or duopolistic from services where true competition exists.

An example is electric and phone deregulation. Distribution network is heavily regulated and embraces notion of common carriage. First-mile connection is the least profitable portion of the network. Very little true completion exists and if it does do we really want multiple power and communication companies installing local access networks?

Things like power generation; equipment manufacture, long distance networks and Internet services are open to anyone. Being more competitive less regulation is required.

We need to look at what rules are necessary to encourage Internet innovation. At the same time how do we encourage first-mile providers to build out access network without becoming gatekeepers and controllers of how the Internet is used and developed?

/tom

Simba7

join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT
·Bresnan Online


1 edit

They should take care of their network first.

I think they should make their network top priority. Without it, it's just a matter of time before the customers get pissed off from their bottlenecks and switch to another company.

Fix the foundation of the house BEFORE you fix anything else. If you flat out ignore it, it'll come tumbling down.. Eventually.. and so will your customer base.

You'd think they would've figured this out after how many YEARS of building networks?

"Sure.. We can have a ton of people on a T1 link." What kind of crack are you smoking?

Of course, the small to medium-sized ISP's (erm.. Bresnan) are actually *LISTENING* to their customers and fixing the problems before they get out of hand. As for the huge ISP's, their mindset is "Eh.. It's just 1 (or more) customer(s). We'll get more."

The huge ISP's seem to not really care about their customers. It's the smaller ones that do.
--
Bresnan 15M/1M|Mine[P4HT 3.2GHz,2GB RAM,2x1TB HDDs,WinXP]|Wife's[P4 2.4GHz,1GB RAM,60GB HDD,WinXP]|Router[2xP3@1GHz,640MB RAM,18GB HDD,Allied Telesyn AT-2560FX,Kingston KNE100TX,2xDigital DE504,Compaq NC3131,iPro/1000DP,Blitz BWI715,Gentoo]

battleop

join:2005-09-28
00000

Re: They should take care of their network first.

"The huge ISP's seem to not really care about their customers. It's the smaller ones that do."

You would not believe the stuff we do to go out of our way to help customers. We have sent a tech out at 9pm to fix a cusomter's DSL because their kid's term paper is due the next day. That's the kind of service you get out of a small ISP.

You still hear the same thing again and again. One day the customer tells us how great we are for fixing a problem that was not the ISP's fault. The next day they call in and day "Well Cable threw an offer that I couldn't refuse, so I have to cancel." Then you find out they left because of a free $20 mp3 player or they saved $4 a month.

As long as people continue this behavior nothing will change.

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
Its called MONEY.
ISP's can make a fixed amount off of your connection as a 'dumb pipe'.
They can make a lot of money by selling 'preferred' advertising space (ie. homepage/portal), reselling traffic data, stats.
jp10558
Premium
join:2005-06-24
Willseyville, NY

Re: They should take care of their network first.

Well, but the worst part is there are real value ads that I've seen ISPs do:
The online backup service
The security software
The tech support and onsite repair
Even the Triple Play bundles with Dish or Cable or whatever

But travel agencies? These aren't even value ads, they're like throwing a dart at a board of products/services and taking on random ones. They don't enhance the internet experiance, they don't provide a service that naturally goes with internet, so most people don't see any reason they should "one stop shop" for their internet and *travel*?? needs.

It's like some of the off the wall offers I get with my credit card program, but even there there's a link of buying stuff. What is the link between ISP and Travel Agent? Real Estate? "Well, comcast is fast internet, so they'll be good at selling my house." Really?

The big problem with a lot of the advertising sales is there's no benefit to the consumer buying the internet access, and it's actually a negative for many. ISPs would do better if they worked on services and value ads that acutally also benefited the customer.
--
Opera 9.62(Build 10467); Windows XP Pro SP3;Intel C2Q6600; 3GB DDR2 1066; 1M/128k DSL; Antivir Personal; Comodo Firewall Pro 3;Proxomitron 4.5j Sidki 2008beta,GPG ID:0x0A1C6EE3

BF69

join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN

The 1st ISP to just be a dumb pipe

Will actually make the most money.

battleop

join:2005-09-28
00000

Re: The 1st ISP to just be a dumb pipe

No because consumers will not pay what it costs for an ISP to just offer dumb pipes.

BF69

join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN

Re: The 1st ISP to just be a dumb pipe

said by battleop See Profile :

No because consumers will not pay what it costs for an ISP to just offer dumb pipes.
costs will actually be the same or less. How many millions of $ not to mention other resources, manpower etc are watsed on stupid projects like "3-d browsers" that have nothing to do with being an ISP. Take all that money and use it to upgrade to a modern infrastructure.

battleop

join:2005-09-28
00000

Re: The 1st ISP to just be a dumb pipe

Those millions are used to attract consumers much in the same way a shiny object attracts a raccoon. Consumer's don't need or use this stuff but for some reason they feel they are getting more for their money when they get a bunch of goodies with their internet service.

BF69

join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN

Re: The 1st ISP to just be a dumb pipe

said by battleop See Profile :

Those millions are used to attract consumers much in the same way a shiny object attracts a raccoon. Consumer's don't need or use this stuff but for some reason they feel they are getting more for their money when they get a bunch of goodies with their internet service.
I bet if I polled 1000 peole you get maybe 2 or 3 that thinks a 3-d browser is make or break issue with them when it comes to choosing an ISP.

battleop

join:2005-09-28
00000

Re: The 1st ISP to just be a dumb pipe

Uh hum ok that, has nothing to do with what I said but.. oh never mind it would be a waste of time.

BF69

join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN

Re: The 1st ISP to just be a dumb pipe

said by battleop See Profile :

Uh hum ok that, has nothing to do with what I said but.. oh never mind it would be a waste of time.
yes it does.

YOU

quote:
Those millions are used to attract consumers much in the same way a shiny object attracts a raccoon. Consumer's don't need or use this stuff but for some reason they feel they are getting more for their money when they get a bunch of goodies with their internet service.
So you just said that these pet projects are what attracts customers. they don't. ISPs could spend that money on being a dumb pipe.
RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest

Precisely. And this has been going on forever. How many toasters did people really need back when banks offered them for opening accounts?

Until people reject the Wal*Mart "value" myth and realize that cheaper is not always better, nothing changes. We will continue to get what we pay for, which is crap.
jjeffeory

join:2002-12-04
USA
Selling to the lowest common denominator?

anony501

@comcast.net

said by BF69 See Profile :

Will actually make the most money.
I think there have been a number that tried. The dumb pipe business is actually pretty dumb. Business history shows us that one trick ponies don't survive.

maartena
Stacked.
Premium
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

All I want....

Is a bloody connection with an IP address.

I'll provide the rest (email, news, DNS, my home page) myself, thank you very much.
--
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!"
DarkLogix

join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX
·Comcast Workplace
·Comcast


2 edits

Re: All I want....

I hear ya
I have never used the ISP provided e-mail (who needs an e-mail that you could lose if you change)

News wtf would I want that from an ISP?
DNSya I don't want to use the crappy DNS they have I have for the past 3+ years had an in home DNS server that looks to the roots to get dns

home page why?if I want a webpage I'll write the HTML myself and I will want full control over the webserver (which I do have over my home server)

I just want a big dumb internet pipe give me an IP I'll even sortout the IPv6 address

they need to stop wasting time and money on projects and services that shouldn't be there

and with OPEN dsn people that don't have a server at home can still get good dns

I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me an internet pipe or leave

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast

Re: All I want....

I think(I could be wrong) that ISPs are catering to the non-savy peoples of the world.
The AOL-esk people that expect to find *stuff* on their home page(s).

You and I can deal with a generic connection and getting/making whatever it is that we want from where ever it may reside on the interwebs.

For Moms, turning it on and having ??? for a *portal* to the things she may be interested in is just easier.

I prefer a non-ISP home page.
Opera has DSLReports as a home page.
IE/SlimBrowser has Yahoo. Yahoo is my main email - it is not tied to Comcast or my NetZero dialup(or my cell) internet accounts.
Yahoo is also Moms-friendly.
If Moms wishes to use one of my laptops, she can find nearly anything with relative ease via Yahoo.

Comcast rarely gets used, even by me!
I treat Comcast pretty much as a pipe and that's it!
Even Fancast has my login from Yahoo email, not Comcast!

*NOTE* Fancast is a Comcast service.

Different strokes, ya know?
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera
DarkLogix

join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX
·Comcast Workplace
·Comcast


1 edit

Re: All I want....

I set the home page no the computer I gave to my mom to google

small page fast to load so she doesn't have to wait on IE or opera to open (installed opera but she keeps going to IE)

maybe they could give a discount to those that don't want their crap

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast

Re: All I want....

said by DarkLogix See Profile :

maybe they could give a discount to those that don't want their crap
That would work for me!
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast

Use it or not...

Since it is not affecting the/my price, and no one has a gun to our head(s), ignore the BS and go about your day!

I have no need for some travel search engine and if I did I would probably look at Travelocity or one of the others anyways.

Nothing to see here.
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera
cbs228
Geeks Of The World, Unite

join:2000-09-04
Saint Louis, MO

Re: Use it or not...

said by dadkins See Profile :

Since it is not affecting the/my price, and no one has a gun to our head(s), ignore the BS and go about your day!
It may not be affecting your monthly payments, but it is certainly affecting the company's bottom line. In order to branch out into travel, Comcast needs to hire additional web developers, support staff, and (if they're smart) someone who actually knows something about the travel industry. They're also going to have to pay to host and advertise the new service.

All of these things cost money, and Comcast can get it from either liquid assets (i.e. subscriber profits) or leveraging (i.e. getting a loan). But regardless of where they get it from, every dollar that Comcast spends towards projects like this is one dollar less that they can spend towards upgrading their networks. While either investment may pay off eventually, becoming a travel agency is a much riskier proposition. In order to do so, Comcast is going to have to break into an established industry and take market share away from other, more experienced players. They're also going to need to form a lot of new business relationships with airlines and hotel chains.

On the other hand, new infrastructure will always pay for itself eventually—Comcast can use it to add more subscribers or offer higher-speed service tiers. They could also use it to branch out into IP video-on-demand or some other service that a cable company might be good at providing. While you won't notice any difference in service now, risky ventures like this may affect Comcast's ability to provide competitive (or, at least, higher quality) service in the future. If this happens and Comcast subscribers begin deserting the company in droves, Comcast could be in for some real financial trouble.
--
At our school, we don't earn a degree when we graduate—we earn π/180 radians!

GENERAL FAILURE READING ©: DRIVE
(A)bort, (R)etry, (F)rivolous Lawsuits, (B)ribe Congress?
spk037

join:2006-09-02
Orlando, FL

Right

The past several years have seen ISPs continually expand their operations away from their core competency: running networks.

i have a hard time believing they are even "competent" at that.

FastiBook

join:2003-01-08
Newtown, PA
·Verizon FIOS

So...

So... Comast's true traffic shaping plans re revealed. Cut the crap, comcrap. Focus on not sucking on doing the internet & tv thing first, then after you're good at that, then try to do something stupid.

- A
--
LETS GO METS!

IPingUPing
N4BFR
Premium
join:2002-08-30
Smyrna, GA
clubs:

Re: So...

I am surprised at this attitude a little. You make it sound like the ISP is pulling engineers out of their plant work and making them write HTML code. No reason the two can't exist in parallel.

koitsu
Premium
join:2002-07-16
Mountain View, CA

How dare you!

What ISPs really need to offer is more portals! More portals dammit! I'm telling you, it's the future! PORTALS!!!!
--
Making life hard for others since 1977.
I speak for myself and not my employer/affiliates of my employer.
Forums » In The Future, ISPs Do Everything But Run Networks


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