When the entire network plan meets one unsigned form.
There is a special kind of optimism found only in technology businesses.
It's the belief that once you've solved the engineering problems, everything else will naturally fall into place.
We had big ideas about expanding internet access.
DSL was going to change things.
There were manufacturers, networking equipment, potential customers, financing arrangements and enough planning discussions to wallpaper an office.
The technology was exciting.
The opportunity was exciting.
The paperwork was considerably less exciting.
At one point, a signature on a financial document became an exceptionally important part of the entire operation.
Not a router.
Not a modem.
Not a clever piece of software.
A signature.
It's rather difficult to troubleshoot an unsigned document using a serial console.
You can check the cables.
You can inspect the configuration.
You can reboot the equipment.
But none of those actions will cause somebody to pick up a pen.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a promising technology rollout can end up waiting on an administrative checkbox.
We had solved the engineering.
Unfortunately, nobody had invented a pen that signed itself.
Cartoon dramatization of a remembered financing and approval obstacle; it does not assign blame to a particular company or individual.