Broadbandits
by Om Malik · first published 2003
6mentions
2recommended by
5HN commenters
2015–2026first – last mentioned
40% recommend60% neutral
Investigating the financial fraud and misguided power plays that brought down the telecom industry Once the foundation of the Dow and NASDAQ, the telecom industry has eaten up more capital than any other industry in recent history and has nothing to show for it. Today, it is by far the worst culprit in the spate of financial dirty dealings that have been splashed across the business pages, and yet the rewards reaped by top executives at many of these failed or failing companies have been inversely proportionate to their decline. Broadbandits takes readers behind the scenes to get the story t
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…The goal of the telco is to keep the FCC speed goal at copper limits for as long as possible to avoid paying the fiber they were paid to build in the 90’s. Om Malik wrote a fantastic book entitled: “Broadbandits” which covers the $750B telecom heist (way back 30 years ago when a single billion was a lot of money for a business). https://www.amazon.com/Broadbandits-Inside-Billion-Telecom-H...
on “FCC proposes to increase minimum broadband speeds to 100 Mbps” ↗…the tax dollars subsidizing them, you'll realize that the networks were basically paid for by the citizens and operated privately at a profit. Here's a good book on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/Broadbandits-Inside-Billion-Telecom-He... >Also, your understanding of the point of a business is really flawed. Everyone can have perfect information and businesses can still function just fine. I continue to pay…
on “Who's doing this to my internet?” ↗Related: if you want to read how the Telecoms have us over a barrel, and how they fleeced us all yet never delivered on what they promised, read http://www.amazon.com/Broadbandits-Inside-Billion-Telecom-He... (by Om Malik, of GigaOm fame)
on “AT&T sues Louisville to stop Google Fiber from using its utility poles” ↗…stealing hundreds of billions of dollars from US taxpayers for promises that were never delivered.[0][1] [0]https://www.ntia.doc.gov/legacy/broadbandgrants/comments/61B... [1]https://www.amazon.com/Broadbandits-Inside-Billion-Telecom-H...
on “Study shows US has slower LTE wireless than 60 other countries” ↗…his GigaOm events in the SF Bay Area. Before that, I had been a long time reader of his GigaOm blogs and other writings at Fast Company, Red Herring, Light Reading, and elsewhere, including his book Broadbandits. He was one of the few bloggers / reporters who wrote it as he saw it; his takes were often brutally honest and pointed. He called upon the excesses of various telecom execs during the dot-com and telecom…
on “Om Malik, 1966-2026” ↗…During those years he became a friend and we would sometimes grab lunch and chat about all manner of things, from tech to family. I dished on some of what I watched go down in the dot-com bubble for his Broadbandits book. Later, I would go on to write contributed articles for GigaOm. Goodbye, buddy. 60 is too young. You were one of the best. Maybe you’re getting the early scoop in a different way.
on “Om Malik, 1966-2026” ↗