System vs Technology

As I finished reading "The Master Switch," I began to see the history and origins of the telecommunications I read about in the beginning come to together to what they are today in the end. I am from Northern New Jersey, ten minutes from the George Washington Bridge, where most of the people have Verizon for their cell phone service. I use AT&T, so as a teenager, my friends and I would debate which one is better. "I always have good service....my phone can do this....blah blah blah." Looking back on these memories made me laugh. Firstly, I found it ironic how Verizon and AT&T were both formed from the original AT&T and its "Baby-Bells." The two prominent companies of the 21st century that are competing against each other were born of the same mother.

Secondly, I thought it was funny how middle school me was arguing with his friends over who had better service. It is funny to think that even at the age of 13, I realized how important reliable cell phone service was. Of course, we then returned to the argument of who had a "cooler" phone, but the better service argument is intriguing. The phone companies have instilled in the minds of America's youth that reliability in phone service is the key, for without it your fancy phone can't do anything. This bring us back to the idea that a system is more important than a technology; a point Wu talks about in his book. We tend to overlook the phone companies and the service they provide because we have become so accustomed to it. Consumers are more excited about the release of the iPhone for Verizon than the release of a 4G network. It seems that we prefer the technology that we can physically hold in our hand as opposed to the technology that is powering it. It will be interesting to see when the iPhone becomes available for Verizon on February 10th how many customers switch from AT&T or any other competitors to Verizon. This will be the real test of whether or not cell phone users prefer Verizon's service over another companies, or for that matter if service is even important anymore.