vedana.net

Hong Kong on the Cluetrain

Dan Gillmor:

"When portability went into effect in 1999, about 45 percent of the local population had mobile phones. Today it's north of 99 percent, says Kwan, and portability is one reason. Carriers saw it, and continue to see it, as a way of winning new customers, he says."

...

"This city's experience won't be simply applied to the United States, for a number of reasons including America's perverse fondness for conflicting technical standards in a market that almost demands more rationality. As we've seen again and again, moreover, companies almost always prefer to lock customers into their products than compete in truly open markets. It's the nature of capitalism."