[opendtv] Re: 20050509 Mark's Monday Memo
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005 16:13:10 -0400
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> > 1. Your "utility" would become the gatekeeper,
> > Whether they set the fees, or whether they use
> > other criteria to allow access, they will
> > accept or reject applicants for bandwidth.
>
> No, the utility would have no say in what content
> makes it onto the system, just as is the case
> today for the telephone system.
The telephone system will handily reject new users
if its bandwidth is in short supply. If RF
bandwidth is in short supply today in OTA TV, it
will continue to be in short supply no matter who
manages it.
With DTT, and analog off the air, the situation
improves. But unless you have an oversupply of
bandwidth, applicants will get bumped. This is true
whether you have one gatekeeper as you prefer, or
multiple gatekeepers as we have today.
> The Internet has little notion of "time" as we
> think of it in broadcast terms; there are peak
> usage periods, but the global nature of the net
> distributes these peaks across time and location.
You acknowledged that "prime time" will continue
to exist whether you have a single utility or many
different ones. Good. But btw, peak usage affects
the Internet as it does any other net. There is
congestion at different times of day in different
locations of the network, which is only resolved by
over-provisioning. With a wired Internet, over
provisioning is possible, limited only by capital
expenditure. With RF, there are more limitations
than just $.
The issue about TV stations broadcasting signals
for non-real-time download is orthogonal to this
discussion. Of *course* they can do this, whether
there's one central gatekeeper or many different
ones. Broadcasters will make use of this capability
if they can conquer the copy protection paranoia.
And this is true no matter who manages the spectrum.
> I also agree that bandwidth is limited, as are
> any resources for which the value is set by the
> marketplace. THIS is the major reason that the
> spectrum utility offers a clear advantage, as it
> uses the marketplace to establish the rates for
> access to the system at ANY moment in time.
But you specifically said previously that the
rates would be REGULATED by some central
authority. Matter of fact, that was your
explanation for how starving artists would get
access.
Besides which, the multiple gatekeepers aren't
stupid. They too understand what it means to rent
out space, and they do this TODAY, as we already
discussed. There's no reason to assume that
broadcasters won't rent out spectrum in the
future.
> With a well thought out spectrum policy driven
> by the marketplace we would not need the FCC.
Oh come now. Let's not go in circles. The FCC is
the same as your spectrum management bureaucracy,
except they allow multiple gatekeepers. You're
just changing the name of the same function.
> And I am not sure what makes you think that
> with DTT there will be more spectrum available.
Because the tabboo restrictions are relaxed and
because you can fit more streams in each 6 MHz
band. The result is, more programs can be aired
in the TV OTA spectrum than can be done with
analog.
> The current system may look like there are many
> gatekeepers, but the reality is that they act
> as a TRUST,
With more 6 MHz bands available, and the local
ownership caps retained, this will be less true.
And by the way, the popular content will also
take up your centrally-planned utility concept,
shutting out starving artists, assuming you're
being truthful about your claim of "market
driven." In fact, the same "trust" will evolve,
where popular bits crowd out newcomers.
> But the reality is that the TV service is dying;
> it does not enjoy broad popular support.
In Europe, all it took was the freeview concept
to reinvigorate it. You can do the same here, even
without the central planning. If it dies, it dies.
Marxism won't be what saves it. If OTA dies, it's
because of the "more is more" culture we live in,
which will keep people on cable even with your
centrally planned bureaucracy. At which point,
reassign the remaining TV spectrum to other uses.
> The only control that the government has over
> oil production is related to leases for
> exploration on public lands.
Reagan deregulated oil prices and production in
1981, finally resolving the oil shortages that
became acute in 1973 and 1977.
Bert
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