Some 25 years ago I described how telecom, voice calling on copper, would collapse. Since then I have seen how one entity, Verizon, a former employer, has managed to consistently snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.
In my opinion the main reason is that they have no idea what business they are in. They keep trying to get in the media business. I was in the media business, at Warners, and the people there are creative risk takers, who know when to hold them and when to fold them. Telephone types come from a environment of pretenders in business. Historically the telecom business had defined profit as percent return on invested plant. All expenses were covered. The real world does not work that way.
The current and prior two CEOs come from a world not akin to the core business. One wanted to be a media king, think Yahoo, and how did that go. The next came from the hardware business. Verizon is in the service business. Ultimate mismatch. The current is a Silicon Valley type, with a company invested in pole climbers.
The main problem is a Board who present well to the WOKE world but lack the ruthless world of competitive network services. They waited too long to the last CEO to get ousted. I suspect the current CEO will try to use his rule book but this will also fail.
After forty years of stock holdings, I sold everything off today. I suspect Verizon may get bought out directly or after a Chapter 11 filing. Pity.
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