[opendtv] Re: Chairman Pai blog on bridging digital divide
- From: Craig Birkmaier <brewmastercraig@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2017 08:22:53 -0400
On Jul 19, 2017, at 9:00 PM, Manfredi, Albert E <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
No Bert. I do not champion anti-competitive solutions.
ROTFL. All the time!! And then you are surprised with the results. Year ago,
you were bemoaning the fact that you couldn't get a la carte options on your
cable system. I found that amusing. Honestly, how could you expect anything
different? That's the question. What don't you get, Craig?
You still don't get it Bert.
We cannot live normal lives in this country WITHOUT having to deal with all
kind of anti-competitive services. Utilities, health insurance, media...
The list just keep growing as industries seek government protection from
competition.
There's an old saying in the South, maybe everywhere:
Want'n and gett'n are two different things.
OBVIOUSLY people who want "some" of the content included in MVPD bundles would
like to be able to buy ala carte rather than paying for all kinds of stuff they
do not want.
But they ain't gett'n it.
Walled gardens exist everywhere Bert, especially on the Internet.
And here is Craig's oh-so-typical reverting back to square 1. See my first
comment up top. This assertion is false, but I'm not going through that again.
It is accurate.
I do not have any meaningful way to convince you that I am 100%
committed to the open culture of the Internet,
What you have shown is 100% loyalty to any form of walled garden culture,
including the "superior medium" of legacy MVPDs.
Nope. MVPDs ARE superior to FOTA in many ways. But this comes with a cost -
paying for stuff you don't watch to get the stuff you want.
This is equally true for Netflix, HBO Go, and the various tiers now offered by
Hulu. It is the business model that the content congloms CHOOSE.
You can claim to be "pure" and refuse to support this business model, even a
you keep watching the ad supported crap you can get for free. But more than 90
million U.S. homes CHOOSE to subscribe to a MVPD bundle.
Get over it.
And you have shown similar allegiance to devices that work to give people
only a tiny sliver of what's on the Internet.
Like what Bert? Google TV?
Oh wait, you must be talking about Apple TV.
Earth to Bert - these connected TV devices are not designed to provide access
to everything on the Internet. Amazon has been selling a ton of its Alexa smart
speakers. I guess you think this device should not exist because it cannot
access everything on the Internet.
Ever hear of IOT - the Internet of Things?
Should my WiFi capable thermostat include a large display and a web browser?
And you have shown a preference to allow local monopolies to offer
non-neutral Internet service any time they please. Copious prose won't change
these facts. You convince through actions, not by proving the opposite time
and time again.
That's absurd. i do not want any service to be "non-neutral."
Fortunately that is NOT a problem, as the culture of the Internet is what
protects neutrality, not government regulators with a century long legacy of
protecting the industries they regulate.
That is why I keep pointing out that the perceived need for
government regulation of "Natural Monopolies" has caused EXACTLY
what you claim I want.
And you have always struggled to understand cause and effect. For some
reason, you can't wrap your head around the fact that some industries cannot
self-regulate to begin with, and THEREFORE regulations are needed.
You are wrong. Every industry CAN self-regulate. History has proven that it is
politically inspired regulation that creates the demand for more regulatory
protection.
You need to read The Political Spectrum - it might open your eyes and your mind.
Every chapter reveals how spectrum policy has been used to protect incumbents
and thwart competition. You might find it interesting to read about the FCC
decision that limited the number of stations in each market, which drove DuMont
out of the broadcast business. The decision that assured that there would be a
local TV station in every Congressional District.
Cause --> effect. You keep forgetting the obvious example of your water and
sewer service. You can't reasonably "bust up" these utilities. Prose implying
that you can just shows that you are unable to rise above mindless slogans.
Really? I can dig a well, and put in a septic tank. But the governments that
control the sewer and water systems have passed laws to FORCE me to use their
services.
I'm not saying that we need multiple providers of every service. What we need
is protection from abuse by government created monopolies. You mistakenly
believe that these natural monopolies keep costs down...they do not.
Market forces CANNOT exist when the government choose winners and
protects them via laws and regulations.
More mindless crap rhetoric. The government doesn't prevent me from doing
business with just about any Internet company, worldwide. The only aspect it
regulates, rightfully so, are the monopolies that would otherwise get away
with anything they please.
Like Amazon protecting its e-book monopoly by cozying up with Obama's Justice
department to go after Apple?
Ironically, the shift in business model that Apple was pushing was adopted,
resulting in a more competitive market...
Still controlled by Amazon.
Regards
Craig
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