In 1996 the 104th Congress approved, and President Bill Clinton signed into law the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This law created many things, but one thing it created was my job.
As Telecommunications Companies have flourished and floundered over the past decade, one recurrent theme has weighed upon the heads of many telecom reps. The theme, that our services are a commodity.
The below is a definition of commodity from Wikipedia:
A commodity is some good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. It is fungible, i.e. the same no matter who produces it.
Dictionary.com provides the below definition of commodity and fungible:
Commodity: an article of trade or commerce, esp. a product as distinguished from a service.
Fungible: being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind.
So based on the above definitions, we have a slight problem. My theme “our services are a commodity” is by definition a contradiction. A service cannot be a commodity, but I will not stop here. I will, by simple definitions, dispel the ability for any educated person of sound mind to use “commodity” when referring to our business. Check back for the following parts of Telecommoditization.
As Telecommunications Companies have flourished and floundered over the past decade, one recurrent theme has weighed upon the heads of many telecom reps. The theme, that our services are a commodity.
The below is a definition of commodity from Wikipedia:
A commodity is some good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. It is fungible, i.e. the same no matter who produces it.
Dictionary.com provides the below definition of commodity and fungible:
Commodity: an article of trade or commerce, esp. a product as distinguished from a service.
Fungible: being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind.
So based on the above definitions, we have a slight problem. My theme “our services are a commodity” is by definition a contradiction. A service cannot be a commodity, but I will not stop here. I will, by simple definitions, dispel the ability for any educated person of sound mind to use “commodity” when referring to our business. Check back for the following parts of Telecommoditization.
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