Competition From Customers A Potential Problem for Long Haul Transport Providers?

In many parts of the telecommunications business, enterprises have often been "competition." In other words, enterprises often have chosen to build their own private networks instead of buying from telecom services providers, opting to do it themselves. 

That remains a service provider challenge. The large app providers essentially are enterprises that have elected to build their own data centers and long haul networks. It started with the data centers, then moved to the undersea networks realm. 

Now Facebook and Google are experimenting with unmanned aerial vehicles to supply backhaul for retail Internet access. Google is preparing to launch a network of balloons for the same purpose. And then there is Skype. 

App providers have nibbled at the edges of the device business as well, bringing to market branded game players, tablets and occasionally a smartphone. 

It doesn't appear the "build versus buy" tradeoffs have diminished.