GM's New Chairman -- You Won't Drive on My Roads for Free

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: June 10, 2009 11:53:55 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] GM's New Chairman -- You Won't Drive on My  
Roads for Free


Posted: June 10, 2009 04:22 PM
GM's New Chairman -- You Won't Drive on My Roads for Free
By Art Brodsky
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-brodsky/gms-new-chairman----you-w_b_213952.html 
>
Who says there is no cosmic irony in the bland world of telecom? On  
the day after thousands and thousands of pages were filed with the  
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on a new national broadband  
plan, General Motors announced its new post-bankruptcy chairman -- Ed  
Whitacre, the former chairman of AT&T.

It was Whitacre who set off the Great Net Neutrality Storm of  
2005-2006, when he took control of the Internet on behalf of AT&T,  
putting forth the unique view of the world that Google, Yahoo and  
other Internet companies were using his company's telecommunications  
network "for free," and he wasn't going to allow that. The fact that  
those, and many other, companies were paying millions of dollars for  
telecommunications didn't seem to matter.

The issue was one of control -- Whitacre had it, and he wasn't going  
to give it up without a fight. Of course, with General Motors,  
Whitacre will be able to get back to his original model. Not only  
Google and Yahoo, but others are using his roads for free. Heaven help  
the gearheads who want to change out parts in their new post- 
apocalyptic GM models. Under the Whitacre model, they can forget that  
after-market new carburetor or the dual exhaust. Even new hubcaps,  
would be on the no-no list.

Whitacre could gin up a few new revenue streams as GM tries to  
recreate itself. Cars could be sold with speed caps, so customers  
would pay extra monthly fees for engines that allowed you to drive  
faster, but only for certain distances between particular  
destinations. (That might not be a bad thing, come to think of it.)  
Lauren Weinstein suggested car owners might face mileage caps, or  
would have to pay to start their cars. Those are his cars, and don't  
forget it.

Sad as it is to mention, the ghost of Whitacre prevails over the  
current proceeding, much as it hovered over the past. Of course, the  
language used now is more diplomatic than Whitacre used. Instead of  
accusing companies of being "nuts" if they think they can use "pipes  
for free," the industry has refined its approach. They still want  
control over users and how users employ networks. That kind of idea  
should sink, "like a rock," as it were.

Telephone Companies Want Internet Control

That's how the thousands of pages of comments break down. On one side  
are the network providers and their eco-system of suppliers, much like  
the auto companies and the companies dependent on them to make the  
parts. They roll out every rhetorical device/threat they can think of  
to stave off the fact that the companies owning the networks shouldn't  
play favorites. On the other side are just about everyone else -- the  
consumers and their advocates, who want the government to make certain  
that Internet policy benefits everyone.

AT&T, for example, wants to make sure that: "Among other things, the  
Plan should make clear that policymakers will not allow ancillary  
debates about 'net neutrality' and theoretical concerns about  
potential market developments to eclipse the importance of enabling  
investment in and use of robust network management capabilities to  
meet critical public-safety needs." For a company that in its comments  
urged the FCC to think outside the box, this comment certainly meets  
the test. Now, for the first time, having a neutral, non- 
discriminatory Internet will hamper public safety. Funny, for all  
those years that the network was neutral and non-discriminatory under  
the Communications Act, no one found a public-safety issue. Only in  
the last couple of years, it seems, has this become an issue.

[snip]


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