more on WHY YOUR BROADBAND SUCKS

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Robert Lee <robertslee () verizon net>
Reply-To: <robertslee () verizon net>
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 12:09:30 -0500
To: <dave () farber net>
Subject: RE: [IP] WHY YOUR BROADBAND SUCKS

Funny article.  With regard to "the fire department".  In my early 20's I
bought a house that had a colorful plaque on the front.  I inquired and was
told that in the old days there was no public fire department, that
entrepreneurs started local fire companies and that you subscribed to one.
I was amazed.  I never did the research that the subject deserves but two
decades later I found myself buying an old firehouse to rehab for my
business.  We actually called it the firehouse, as did our 4,000 clients.
When I told people that I had bought a firehouse they screwed up their faces
and said, "What for?"  I told them, "I am going into the fire putting out
business.  I am going to have two revenue models.  The first is
subscription.  You pay me so much every month and if your house starts to
burn I will be there lickety split.  They second model is you don't pay me
anything, your house starts to burn, you call me, and we negotiate.  For X
number of dollars we will leave right away and drive above the speed limit,
for Y number of dollars we will leave in 20 minutes and drive the speed
limit, ...etc."

These laws preventing the public sector from offering broadband are not only
repugnant, they depend on the most faithless federal court decision that
redefines the wording of the Telecom Act of 1996 that said "any entity" can
string communications lines and offer services.  The federal court agreed
with the Bells that "any entity" was not actually "any" entity but simply
private entities.  

I lived in Philadelphia when RCN spent millions of dollars trying to compete
with Comcast, which is one of Philadelphia's largest taxpayers.  City
Council ran them around for 18 months until they simply pulled out.  The
papers dutifully ran the stories, explaining the malicious red tape, but
without much characterization, and there was no outcry.

In my opinion, for business and political issues that are not transparent
and exciting to the average unsophisticated citizen, it is necessary for the
news media to react emotionally, to lead the citizenry.  They did not do it
when City Council ran RCN out of town and they certainly did not do it when
Mayor Street got Philadelphia excluded from the state law.

Interesting concept when you think about it.  No city but Philadelphia can
build a telecom infrastructure (I say telecom because I am not a lawyer and
cannot afford one to come up with the wording that would satisfy the DC
circuit court and Michael Powell).  Wires.  Lines.  Transmitters.  Things
that broadcast and conduct STUFF.

 
Robert Lee


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ip () v2 listbox com [mailto:owner-ip () v2 listbox com] On Behalf Of
David Farber
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2005 1:09 PM
To: Ip
Subject: [IP] WHY YOUR BROADBAND SUCKS


------ Forwarded Message
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Reply-To: <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 09:49:20 -0800
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] WHY YOUR BROADBAND SUCKS

[Note:  Lessig likes to put into practice what he preaches.  For over a
year now, he's been supporting SFLan <http://www.sflan.org>, a wireless
community network in San Francisco, which covers the entire city.  DLH]

WHY YOUR BROADBAND SUCKS

[Commentary] City leaders stepping in to provide cheap broadband when
the market hasn't? What's next -- providing street lights when private
interests don't? This sort of insanity is raging across the US today.
Pushed by lobbyists, at least 14 states have passed legislation similar
to Pennsylvania's that blocks municipal Internet networks. Lessig says
he's always wondered what almost $1 billion spent on lobbying state
lawmakers gets you. Now we're beginning to see. He concludes: City and
state politicians should have the backbone to stand up to self-serving
lobbyists. Citizens everywhere should punish telecom toadies who don't.
Backwater broad-band has been our fate long enough. Let the markets,
both private and public, compete to provide the service that telecom
and cable has not.

[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Lawrence Lessig lawrence_lessig () wiredmag com
(You saw him on West Wing, but didn't he look like the guy from Taxi?)]
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/view.html?pg=5>

Archives at: <http://Wireless.Com/Dewayne-Net> [Note: Requires
registration]
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>


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