Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Information Services (was Re: PacTelesis Power Grab) Message-ID: <2236@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 17 Dec 89 10:37:46 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: John Higdon Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 23 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 9, Issue 580, message 3 of 8 David Lewis writes: > Should you restrict the telcos from selling, > say, online white pages service? If you do, the service is never > going to be available -- no one else has the information to offer it. Information passes freely to and from telcos. For instance, they don't think twice about telling every Tom, Dick, and Harry that pretends to be you on the phone to the business office anything they would like to know about your account. Why couldn't the telcos simply sell the info to an online service, who would administer the actual product? They have no problem selling you the data one number at a time through their "online" voice directory assistance; why not just sell the whole thing to a data information provider? The rule of thumb should always be to prevent the regulated monopoly from engaging in any competitive service that utilizes its regulated network. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !