[opendtv] Chairman Copps to Silicon Valley
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:17:02 -0500
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-298708A1.pdf
It's worth a read.
Chairman Copps is trying to make a case, to Silicon Valley people, for
reclassifying broadband access as a telecom service. His argument is that
broadband access is controlled now by too few companies, these companies can
prioritize traffic, these companies have little incentive to provide service in
difficult areas, and that therefore the more stringent regs of a telecom
service would protect consumers.
Partly believable. The counterargument being that just like telephone service,
the strict telecom regs mean huge burdens to the broadband providers, such as
lifeline service freebies for example, and we all know what that does to costs
to the consumer. Ever looked at your phone bill, even for ancient POTS? No
mention of that. He even mentions, as if it were a good idea, the Telecom Act
of 1996. As if that act did not all by itself create a huge obstacle to
broadband deployment. (E.g. by giving burdens and no rewards to telecom
companies wanting to deploy broadband.)
Another argument he makes is about how the news media have been decimated.
Quoting:
"Newsrooms have been shuttered, reporters taken off the beat and fired, and
investigative journalism put on the endangered species list. Some try to tell
us this is the natural result of changes in technology and markets, but the
facts tell another story. Truth be told, in the case of traditional media,
whether newspapers or broadcasting, it was bad choices by the private sector
(through heedless consolidation that saddled companies with unmanageable debt)
and even worse choices by government (through the FCC's evisceration of the
public interest protections that had undergirded the country's media landscape)
that visited such harm on the American people, on our democracy and,
ironically, on even the media companies themselves."
Seems hard to believe. These media are being eviscerated by loss of consumer
interest, if anything, and universal broadband access can only accelerate that
process. When you have virtually unlimited sources of news and information, it
becomes that much more difficult for the elite few to survive. Maybe an even
smaller number of "elites" MIGHT have a shot, among all the Internet
mediocrity, but I honestly fail to see how government regulation can save the
day here. Sounds like, "Trust me, increased government involvement can truly
deliver these conflicting goals."
I'm skeptical. I also marvel at how people can be so impassioned by arguments
that at best so ambiguous. Sort of like those who Truly Believe in that Iris
engine. At a certain age, surely everyone comes to understand that none of
these issues are ever so cut and dried?
Bert
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