Charlie Sands joined CUT as an Associate in late 1998, then served as a Committee Member and was elected Moderator at the second Annual General Meeting in April 2000.
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Welcome Charlie. We're standing at a
well-stocked bar. What are you having?
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A Bombay Sapphire and tonic.
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How did you get involved in CUT and why?
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I had emailed my ISP a couple of times complaining about how I was paying more to BT than to them
and suggested that they ought to do something about it. They sent me a non-commital response. When
I later came across the CUT website I decided to sign up as I fully supported CUT's objective of
bringing about unmetered Internet access.
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What is your current occupation (or would be if you could get the job you're
after)?
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I'm employed in the international oil business which is a really interesting business.
Unfortunately, it currently is at the bottom of a bust cycle and no one knows when the next boom
will start.
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What is your dream occupation?
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Owning the patent rights to Viagra.
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What's the proudest moment or achievement in your life to date?
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Getting married after my mother had given up on me as a confirmed bachelor.
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Do you currently have unmetered calls to the Internet? What do/would
you find them most beneficial for?
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No. To access the Web any hour of the day and night for as long as I might want without fear of
running up a humungous phone bill. It would totally alter my current pattern of Internet access.
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What's the most pointless sport in the world?
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Snail racing. Its only redeeming feature is you can cook the contestants in garlic butter after the
race is over.
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What's the most likely thing to make you laugh?
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Robin Williams doing stand up comedy. Unfortunately, his successful movie career means he does very
little stand up comedy.
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What's the most likely thing to make you get up on your soapbox?
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Bureaucratic stupidity. In England, the foremost example is the Pub Licensing Act of 1917 which
decreed that pubs should close at 11pm to make sure that munitions workers would be sober at work
the next morning during World War I. This has remained in effect ever since. Someone needs to tell
Parliament that World War I is over!
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Where do you see the Internet being in 5 years time?
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An integral part of daily life.
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Where do you see the telecommunications industry being in 5 years time?
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A lot bigger with fewer companies overall, but a lot more satellite based companies around.
Competition will be fierce as higher bandwidth services obsolete today's conventional phone service.
Consumers will benefit from dramatically lower call costs and a better choice of service providers.
Internet telephony will be in widespread use.
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If you were at a dinner party, who would you most like to be sat next
to and why (living or dead)?
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Dead - William Shakespeare, a great playwright and an even greater mystery. Live - Nathan Myrhvold,
a true genius and Renaissance man.
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What do you read in the bath?
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Nothing. I only take showers!
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Does Finnegans Wake by James Joyce make any sense to you?
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Perhaps if I read it.
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If the UK telecommunications industry was an animal, which one would it be?
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Hopefully, an ugly caterpillar about to be transformed into a beautiful butterfly.
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What is the most useful/valued/indispensable piece of technology that you possess?
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A ballpoint pen.
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Do you like marzipan?
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Yes, but only to look at.
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If the aims of CUT are realised, would there be anything else you would feel
equally worth campaigning for? If so, what?
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Currently, there is no other issue that I feel is equally worthwhile campaigning about.
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What CDs/LPs/tapes are currently stacked upon/against your Hi-Fi?
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Sade - Love Deluxe, Enya - Watermark, Stevie Nicks - The Other Side of the Mirror, Cusco - Mystic
Island, Jethro Tull - The Best of, U2 - The Joshua Tree, Jimi Hendrix - The Essential Jimi Hendrix,
Kirk Whalum - Cache.
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Who is the most underrated band or musical artist in your opinion?
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Roy Orbison. He had a few major hits such as Pretty Woman, but his influence on contemporary music
goes much deeper than this.
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There's a pile of Smarties of all colours in equal reach. Which do you take first?
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What are Smarties? If they're candies, I rarely eat candy.
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A mischievous angel gives you the opportunity to
throw a rotten tomato at anyone or anything in the world every day for a year. Who or what do you choose
and why?
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I think I would pass on the offer. Throwing rotten tomatoes at someone is not very effective in the
long run. I would rather offer constructive criticism and hope that they can be made to change their
ways.
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We have a time machine on standby. It can go forwards or backwards
but it's a one-way trip. Do you want to use it and, if so, where will you go?
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Yes, to go into the future when they have figured out how to halt or even partially reverse the
aging process in humans.
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Well, the bar is closing now. We have every method of transport at your
disposal. How would you prefer to get home?
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By London black cab, the best taxi in the world. I wish they had them in the US!
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