*BSD News Article 3107


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From: bhv@areaplg2.corp.mot.com (Bronis Vidugiris)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Subject: AT&T&T&T throws in the Towel
Message-ID: <1992Aug4.220118.20036@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com>
Date: 4 Aug 92 22:01:18 GMT
References: <1992Jul24.185653.3196@kithrup.COM> <1992Jul27.164228.28312@gateway.novell.com> <1992Jul27.193757.3628@kithrup.COM> <1992Jul27.213657.29545@gateway.novell.com> <1992Jul28.213156.15525@flatlin.ka.sub.org> <1992Jul31.142716.10238@tpki.toppoint.d <BsF532.5p9@flatlin.ka.sub.org>
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Dateline: an alternate universe

In a surprise move today, AT&T&T&T announced that it was dropping its suit
against BSDI and UCB, and withdrawing from the Unix business.

"We realized that we simply cannot compete in a free market - that's 
just not what we're good at", the president and CEO of AT&T&T&T said.
"Thus we are dropping our attempt to enter the computer and operating system
market, and instead concentrate on what we are competent at.  It simply makes
no business sense for us to throw good money after bad and continue to
pursue our suit against BSDI and UCB - we might win, eventually, but there
just isn't any profit in it for us."

AT&T&T&T also announced that it planned to drop its monopoly plans
on information services through the phone network.

"We've failed at everything we've tried outside of our primary business -
which is being a common carrier", the president and CEO said.  "It's time for
us to face facts - we simply are not competent to run the sort of business it
would take to provide all the information services the public needs.  No
single company could do that - it's just not realistic.  It's time to
streamline our business, and drop peripheral businesses such as our computer
business and our proposed information service businesses.  By concentrating
on our role as a common carrier, we can extract our profit from the flow of
all information - and collect our fee for every kilobyte of data sent.  We
don't have to try and do it all ourselves.  By encouraging third parties to
do the actual work and take the risks involved in setting up the information
services, we can all profit. It simply doesn't make any sense for us to
continue go into businesses outside our field - we get beat up by the
competition every time we try."

Reaction from Wall Street was highly positive - AT&T&T&T stock went up
sharply after the announcement.  "It's about time they did this" one source
said.  "It's long overdue."