Reaction to 3's flatrate move

Interesting to see the variety of reactions to 3's announcement last week. Several of the comments on this blog have essentially said "well, they've messed it up in the past, why should this time be any different?" - which is fair enough, although clearly it may provoke a reaction from the other operators before any signs of lack of execution become clear.

Keith at TeleBusillis has a similarly cynical take, invoking both Monty Python and The Lord of the Rings as amusing analogies.

Then there's the "acquisition" angle. But even if Voda buys 3 tomorrow, it seems probable that the usual lengthy acquisition & regulatory process would mean that X-Series would launch in a blaze of publicity anyway. The mobile broadband Internet cat is definitely out of the bag, in my view.

On the other hand, there's been quite a positive response from the business press, such as the Sunday Times' opinion headline of "3 finds the right way to do mobile internet"

And I have to get a riposte in to Keith's Tolkeinesque characterisation of "The Internet Barbarians" slavering like an army of Uruk's at the gates of telecom.... maybe we should turn it round and consider Frodo 3 and trust sidekick Web'n'Walk breaking into the walled garden of Mordor and confronting Arun Sauron?