They could also call out the flip side though, right? Dropbox could negotiate deals with the ISPs to "box out" smaller competitors. Maybe it costs them upfront but it also solidifies them in the market.
If you don't control the network, though, it remains a risk. Whoever you partner with can renegotiate the terms later or back out of a contract depending on the exit terms (may cost them, but may be worth it for what they can get from Google).
This is the problem of the tenant, the renter. The landlord can change the terms and eat into your profits. At some point it's not worth dealing with them, but it's not always easy to leave.
And whether they’re competitors with each other. ISPs are largely regional monopolies so you can’t play them off each other as easily. They have the stronger bargaining position. Certainly stronger than Dropbox (people don’t buy internet service for Dropbox alone).
Yes, but that's not a "risk factor"... generally in an issuance document, the big pressure is to disclose all the material negatives of your business that you're aware of, partially so that down the road the SEC or your investors can't complain they weren't warned of that risk during the issuance.
The problem here is that the competitors are companies like Google and Microsoft. If it came down to a bidding war, they could outbid Dropbox just by pulling loose change out of their couch cushions.
+1, I think it’s sad to have to consider this, but business/capitalism is more of a chess game, especially if the shareholders perspective is the driving decision force.
Yes, if you're a short sighted MBA that wants to encourage your own extortion