The end of innocence

Our cover story is about a not-so-well-known ISP assuming the mantle of David against the behemoth that is Telkom.

If nothing else, DotCo will be remembered for taking a stand, just as Orion Telecom is remembered for taking the fight to Telkom about least-cost routing and winning.

One sees signs of a groundswell against the `ruling majority` everywhere. In ADSL and broadband, and telecoms in general, we need look no further than mybroadband.co.za and protest sites like hellkom.co.za.

The interesting thing is that one can see signs of a new world order in these sites, mushrooming up all over the globe, giving a voice to previously disenfranchised markets. Starting out as one-man shows, they`re often of exceedingly high quality, and soon find themselves mutating into something resembling media outlets.

This phenomenon has resonance in blogs, wikis and all manner of personal publishing and mass communication tools, all threatening to turn the traditional balance of power on its head.

The response? If it`s not arrogant, it`s sort of funny. Vendors promising value, vendors professing to be closer to their clientele, vendors playing ball, half-heartedly.

It`s the end of innocence, in a way, but it will have to go much further. Once the empowered masses get into the grown-up world of commercial blood-letting, they have to learn about boardroom machinations ending in tears or court, about the responsibilities of publishing, and about the million and one things that battle-hardened vendors have professionally dealt with for decades. Where will it all end? Mutual respect, perhaps.

Enjoy our articles on ADSL (page 16), the Wikipedian trust fallout (page 20) and a few others besides, all pointing to a changing dispensation.