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generate tremendous revenues and enjoy a buoyant stock price. Of course Google is not free; it earns its money from advertisers – some $5B each Quarter. They just don't bill consumers for surfing. Just as with our earlier examples of phone calls and electricity, the service provider has done nothing special that would entitle them to charge Google or the web surfer more money. They have added no value to the transaction.

As Google, Microsoft, and others provide traditional telco services (for example: voice), free of usage charges to the consumer, it becomes progressively more difficult for service providers to charge for it and remain competitive.

So, how can traditional service providers earn money from these apparently lucrative Internet transactions? As we've described in previous articles, we see many services that are naturals for service providers to deliver, and that Internet businesses would happily pay for, because they do add value. Important services like Security, Authentication, Identity Management, Entitlement, and yes, Billing. These are services that appeal to Sellers and to Consumers alike.

We hope that service providers will yet find a way to partner collaboratively with these new giants of the internet. It's still possible, but it will take a change of attitude.