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February 03, 2003
Last-mile vs First-mile
"Last-mile" and "first-mile", referencing the frustratingly constrained and obsolete piece of wire between a customer and the phone network, are often used interchangeably.
Came across this quote from Wired today, which gave me a good reason to start using "first-mile" instead of the apparently derogatory "last-mile".
Only a telephone company could have come up with a phrase like "the last mile." It requires the kind of self-importance fostered by years without competition to assume you are at the center of the universe - that the customer represents the last mile, not the first.
This is from the August 1998 issue, where (separately) one of my favorite pundits is quoted on the future of networks. Amazing how many things he hit dead on. If you haven't already read the piece that got him fired from AT&T and follow-ups to it, I'd highly recommend they're worth your time.
Posted by pete at February 3, 2003 12:47 PM
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