John Shutt wrote: > This one is for Bert. > > John > http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/455351-Dingell_To_Genachowski_Abandon_Title_II_Plan.php Thanks, John. IIRC, it was John Dingell that got super irked with Chairman Genachowski right at the very beginning of Genachowski's tenure, when Genachowski started talking about decimating OTA TV only months after the transition had ended. I'd say, Genachowski got off on the wrong foot there. This "third way" Genachowski keeps talking about consists of splitting out a subscriber's Internet access from the rest of the broadband connection, and applying telecom rules only to the Internet access portion. And then applying the parts of Title II that relate to universal service (funding, presumably), competition, market entry, and consumer protections. And to add to that, if you look at this (just out): http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db0728/DOC-300473A1.pdf you'll see that the "universal service" the FCC is considering is for a 4 Mb/s connection. I think these guys are a bit out of touch with public sentiment, quite honestly. I think that the idea that making Internet access more like the old telephone service, regulated to a fair-thee-well and consequently very expensive (for those who actually pay for it), is not going to resonate with the masses. I think that most Internet users believe that the REASON for the success of the Internet is NO MEDDLING by the government. Hardly the other way around. Yes, there are people out there who like to act all boisterous about Internet access. "It should be" this or that. Upload speeds "should be" the same as download speeds. Speed "should be" at least some stupid high number. That's what I think the Chairman is referring to, in the above URL. As if the FCC, with a magic wand, would make this happen. But even most of these folk, I'll bet you, would not suggest that more government regulation of their broadband connection is the way to go. Genachowski should be made aware of the fact that there is "bail-out fatigue" out there, and that it just might not be the right time for making an entitlement program out of broadband service. Bert ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.