The world was struck by her poise, skill and grace under pressure, by her ability to compete so triumphantly against the best divers the rest of the world had to offer. Imagine, for a moment, that Fu Ming-Xia had come to Atlanta from China never having had to compete against other divers. She could have been endowed with the highest level of natural ability, received the very best teaching available, and benefitted from the highest-tech training equipment. Yet, unless she had the chance to compete against the world's best, to push herself to her utmost, to refine and adapt her skills and tactics, to respond to changing and varied tastes of judges, she could not have completed the remarkable performance that she did in Atlanta. It was her opportunity to strive and compete that made Fu Ming-Xia the best.
Telecom is no different.
Only when firms strive and compete against each other, race against each other to discover new technologies, push each other to offer better services, learn from each other's mistakes and successes do those firms reach their potential. Only then do they make the best use of financial and human capital and ensure that a nation's resources are being well utilized. Just as important as allowing firms to strive and to compete is allowing customers the opportunity to choose. When customers are given the right to choose, they set into motion the law of supply and demand. We all know how frustrating it is when our town has only one store that sells a particular good or one firm that offers a particular good, and we all know the difference when a second shop or a second service provider comes to town.