DEBUNKING Vint Cerf ponders nationalizing the Internet

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Seth Finkelstein [sethf () sethf com]
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 6:46 AM
To: David Farber; ip
Cc: John F. McMullen
Subject: DEBUNKING Vint Cerf ponders nationalizing the Internet

        Sigh. Here we go again :-( - wolf! Wolf! WOLF! ...

        The article is almost a parody of the rile-em-up technique:

"Maybe I didn't fully understand him (I wasn't taking notes), and he
certainly is better versed in the issues at hand than everyone else
who was in that auditorium combined. But nationalizing the Internet is
bad idea. ..."

        Maybe I didn't fully understand the writer, but making up
inflammatory fiction to get attention is a bad idea (or maybe not, to
a certain mindset, since it certainly worked). Here's what Vint Cerf
later explained in his own words, which, agree or disagree, is not the
silly spin given above:

http://techliberation.com/2008/06/27/cerf-nationalize-the-internet/#comments

Posted by: vint cerf - 06/28/2008

"My remarks, taken out of context and turned into a bumper sticker,
don't produce very good dialog. What I was getting at is that the
Internet is in some ways more like the road system than telephone or
cable. These are essentially single purpose networks, each built for a
particular application. Because there is not a great deal of consumer
choice for these services, the usual effects of competition are
weaker. I think the incentives now in place for broadband service
provision have not produced significant facilities-based
competition. An alternative that has been explored in the UK, for
instance, is to mandate that wholesale broadband services must be
provided, e.g., by British Telecom. this allows substantial
competition above the IP layer for value-added services and
substantial consumer choice for them. What I was speculating about in
the Personal Democracy Forum was whether incentives could be provided
that would render the Internet more like the public road system which
is open to everyone. Manufacturers are free to invent and sell
vehicles suitable for use on the road system. Builders are free to
construct buildings, homes, offices, manufacturing plants that use the
road system. But the road system itself is not owned by the private
sector and its use is essentially open to all. The question is whether
incentives can be found that would produce a similar effect for
broadband Internet provision."

--
Seth Finkelstein  Consulting Programmer  http://sethf.com
Infothought blog - http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/
Interview: http://sethf.com/essays/major/greplaw-interview.php



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