Krish Prabhu, venture partner, Morgenthaler Ventures

In November 2001, the former head of Alcatel USA and a rumored candidate for almost every big job in telecom joined VC firm Morgenthaler Ventures. But Krish Prabhu's observations on broadband and the regulatory environment still sound like those of a longtime telecom exec: “We need a framework that makes the playing ground level for everybody,” he said. “To expect [RBOCs] to make an investment and then allow access to that investment to potential competitors is not realistic.”

And for DSL to take off, consumers must be enticed by applications to sign up. “Once the Internet was set up and people found ways to access it, it just took off,” Prabhu said. “Broadband applications will emerge at a rate much faster than we think. True capitalism will take hold, and all kinds of apps will be unleashed.”

During his last five years at Alcatel, Prabhu made the company the DSLAM market leader. But in his own home, he must rely on a cable modem because of a lack of availability of other solutions.

With one daughter in college and other children at home, their always-on broadband connection has become his family's primary method to communicate with the outside world. It's used for study, work, music and, most important of all (at least to Prabhu's kids), instant messaging. “We pick up the phone only when we can't get to chat.” —Toby Weber