[opendtv] Re: FTC on FCC Internet privacy rules
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2017 23:11:38 +0000
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
This article explains that in some cities there were as many as 20
competing electric utilities at the dawn of the 20th Century.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/powering/past/h1main.htm
You missed the point of the article. First of all, those power plants
"competed" no better than MVPDs "compete." Meaning, not locally. It makes no
difference if 20 electrical distribution systems exist in a city, if homes only
have access to one. The other point was that the multiple power standards were
creating a mess.
Quoting: "At the heart of regulation was the acceptance of the notion that some
industries, such as the railroad business, constituted 'natural monopolies.'
According to academic economists, such businesses exhibited tremendous
economies of scale or the necessity of huge capital investment (and usually
both) such that only one company would dominate a market."
Exactly. And to pretend otherwise is fantasy. Plus, as I indicated above, even
if multiple companies exist, but only one is accessible to a given household,
that's not competition anyway.
Times have changed Bert.
Not in this regard. We've been over this many times. You cannot get water and
sewer service from multiple competitors, Craig. Same goes, for the time being,
with Internet broadband. And power lines. You have been unable to explain away
these simple facts.
Sorry, but your analogy does not apply. Look at the pictures I posted
in another thread this morning. It is quite feasible to have multiple
competitors in ANY market.
No, Craig, because no neighborhood wants to have dozens of utilities install
their infrastructures in front of their homes. Plus, where we live, all the
utilities are buried, which creates an even bigger expense and hassle. The
simple truth is that most people in the US today have either one or maybe two
home broadband providers to choose from, rather than dozens as we had way back
in dialup days.
We do not need mandated net neutrality. It exists because of the
history and culture of the Internet.
Yup. The history is called Title II telephone lines. Things don't just happen,
Craig. You are believing in fairy tales.
Bert
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