The Future of Access Charges

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The Futureof Access Charges

• Tom Evslin
• EVSLIN Consulting
• blog.tomevslin.com

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• We are NOT at a tipping point
• We are at a FLIPPING point

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Its All Software!

• Over 100,000,000 downloads!

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email and telephony

• Their beginnings couldnt be more different
• Their future is the same
• No responsible MIS department will ever trust
  its companys email to the Internet. Delivery
  isnt even guaranteed. unnamed ATT Executive,
  1993

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email access charges

• What would you say if your ISP tried to charge
  the sender for each email you RECEIVE?
• How come you dont say the same thing to your
  local phone company?

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quick history of access charges

• Domestic US legacy of the breakup of the Bell
  System
• International legacy of the old accounting rate
  schemes
• Wireless because they can
• Arbitraging helped VoIP

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current rationale for access charges

• Owner of a network should be compensated
• Needed to support universal service
• We need the money
• Legal status
• VoIP-to-VoIP is making the debate irrelevant

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the cost of free email

• Internet access
• Hardware
• Endpoint software
• A mail host
• No INCREMENTAL cost per message

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the cost of free phone calls

• BROADBAND Internet access
• Hardware
• Endpoint software
• A phone host
• No incremental cost per call
• Skype v. Vonage models

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lessons from email

• The middle gets hollowed out
• The intelligent network is an oxymoron
• Proprietary networks and protocols dont last
  (Skype?)
• Interoperability happens
• SPAM!

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who gets the access charges?

• You do!
• You deserve them
• You need them to protect you from SPAM
• Advertisers need you to get them

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charging for access to you

• You set the rate
• You set the free access list
• Not new!
• Media advertisers pay with content
• Sites pay for registrations
• Contests
• VoIP leads email
• SPAM becomes your profit center

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the retail telco of the future

• Looks more like Skype or Vonage than ATT, SBC,
  MCI, or Qwest
• Charges hard or soft dollars for services
  provided
• PSTN connectivity
• VM
• Identity
• Access charge collection and disbursement

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Thank You

• Tom Evslin
• EVSLIN Consulting
• blog.tomevslin.com