Quote:
"In the UK, attitudes towards service providers are at something of a crossroads," he said. "If we can simultaneously demonstrate we're engaging with these complex issues and capture the excitement and opportunity of our services, we could emerge as the enablers of choice in an industry that is sometimes regarded as a bit sterile and remote.
"Or we could go the way of the utility companies or the financial services industry and become resented by consumers and seen as little more than a necessary evil."
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VM (and other ISP's) are getting two aspects of their business a little mixed up. One is their role as a provider of basic network connectivity - IP packet delivery A to B. The other is the 'enhancement' products they can offer due to their unique position - music downloads for example.
Basic network connectivity is a 'utility company' activity and I'm afraid it isn't very exiting. There is more competition you can engage in as an ISP than as a water company but basic connectivity is a utility. My electricity company supplies me with electricity and bills me for it.
By all means VM "capture the excitement and opportunity of your other services" but the two must be kept separate. Phorm is an attempt to pollute one with the other.
My electricity supplier may well have done a great deal on new fridges with it's super new partner and they are entitled to tell me about it. The moment they make my electricity supply dependant on that deal they have crossed the line. Phorm crosses that line.
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VM already running Phorm - doubt it very much, Kent will be holding a ticker tape parade when that happens.
VM have run 'live' tests - doubt it again. Word would have gotten out by now. I'm positive there is at least one disgruntled VM employee who is more than willing to fess up if there were evidence. I'm sure VM were up to something at the back end of last year but the only end result I noticed, beside the intermittent problems, was that my machine was eventually talking to a 10. net.