





I. What's in the Draft







II.  Rise of the Collective Monopoly

i. The Past











ii. Today








III.  The Outlook for the New Rules







Comments     Threshold


RE: Telecoms = Dummy Pipe
By atlmann10 on 12/21/2010 1:08:37 PM , Rating: 1
Well yes the dummy pipe idea could be a true and relevant one. However; I do not believe that it should be owned by a private provider. I am sure there will be arguments to this idea. I believe that the main network pipeline should be owned and provided by the government, and both state as well as federal within that. The reason I say this is multi-fold.

The first is that it will significantly raise our future strength with it's existence. This will be evident both in jobs, and therefore GDP, public protection in the non-monopolization enabled by this. The best thing to look at as a demonstration of this is wireless service in Europe.

In that example as well as one that would make the most sense it is one "utility". The providers then buy and promote what they own within it. Much like when the FCC auctioned frequencies recently that were opened by the digital migration, and the OTA broadcasting that existed prior to it.

So everyone or every place in the country would have availability to the service both wired and wirelessly. Then providers would offer a service path to that as well as services within it. The bottom end would be available to everyone. That would make it universal as it is in most large countries except here (USA).

It would also be a service market not a dominance market as it is now. Another way to look at it is the Highway/Interstate system, as in a realistic regard it is the same. The information Superhighway is a large means of communications, product availability, and is becoming eventually to be the largest means of the procurement of goods. This is exemplified by the ever growing holiday market which has grown yearly now for quite some time.

Eventually it will be the main pipeline for this. You will buy groceries etc to the greatest amount. The local providers will deliver or have pick up services as many already do. As an example you order your groceries online, then pick up a packaged order on your way home.

It is somewhat funny if you think about it. The Milk or general product delivery person will come back into existence. SO regularly used products such as milk/beverages, certain household goods etc bought regularly by everyone will be delivered most likely. The rest will be optionally delivered or pick up packages.

Either way the internet should be addressed like this to provide it for everyone initially at say the 500-750Mb level. Then everyone will buy up for the level of service they want to 1-50Gb or whatever they desire. The service providers will provide Email, commonly used services, security, Television etc.

I know this will never happen I am just commenting on a perfect world picture, where providers are chosen because of the excellence of there service as well as the extra capabilities they offer.

Either way this is the future of our country, and so should be a concern for everyone, even though I know it is generally not so!

RE: Telecoms = Dummy Pipe
By ICBM on 12/21/2010 1:27:56 PM , Rating: 5
My issue with a usage model is that it isn't costing anyone more money to use the bandwidth that is already provided. For example:

1. I have a pc and a file server running on a 100Mbps switch.

2. The cost for me to transfer files between the two is the initial cost of the switch and the cost of the electricity to keep the switch running. Who cares if I transfer 5MB or 500MB? The cost to run the network doesn't change. (electricity being miniscule).

3. Lets say I want to transfer faster. Ok I upgrade and buy a new gigabit switch. So now the cost has gone up, but cost has nothing to do with how much I am transferring.

I think a government option is an interesting one, but I would prefer to keep private companies involved. I like the idea of having municipal internet services, and having those compete against the private companies. Let the provider who can offer the best service for the best price capture the customers. The key is competition and if the government is the only source, we again lose competition.

RE: Telecoms = Dummy Pipe
By Quadrillity on 12/21/2010 1:34:24 PM , Rating: 2
That example doesn't really work. Your home switched network probably requires just about zero maintenance; which isn't the same with a large multi geographic backbone. There is a LOT more going on behind the scenes than you think.

RE: Telecoms = Dummy Pipe
By monitorjbl on 12/21/2010 2:22:31 PM , Rating: 2

This is true, but the gigabit switch example still holds. The maintenance cost doesn't go up just because a new piece was installed. The upgrade for a telecom's network is obviously more complicated than just buying some switches or laying some cable, but there is no reason to say that the maintenance of the new switch/line would be higher (unless of course it was done badly).

The only cost to actively running a network that would change in this scenario is the cost to send data to their backbone network. Assuming those rates stay fixed, the telecom would end up spending more money per month.

RE: Telecoms = Dummy Pipe
By HrilL on 12/21/2010 7:14:32 PM , Rating: 2
actually it pretty much is as simple as changing out your switch from 100Mb/s to gigabit.

Just substitute switch with router. They replace the router or a lot of time just a module in the router in order to get faster speeds. Back bones and big ISPs already have the fiber in the ground and just upgrade the modules that interface with the fiber in order to upgrade their throughput through the same fiber they already have.

Many backbones still have thousands of miles of dark fiber because of upgrades in modules that can use more wave lengths of light with the same cables instead of adding new routers and modules that use out dated tech.

Big ISPs and backbones already have Peering agreements that basically allow them to share bandwidth at no costs with each other so that Large data centers a (company like netflix) that need transit can give access to customers and so the customers have access to the content they're looking for.

Really broadband is a very profitable industry and the profits keep rising because many ISPs are not upgrading their networks and are throttling instead during times of high usage. Most cable providers are still using DOCSIS 2 when DOCSIS 3 has been out since 2006. Comcast has only upgraded in areas where they actually have to compete with Verizon's Fios offering in order to stay competitive.

Prices for broadband should be falling because the initial build out has already been recouped the same fiber these companies are using has been in the ground for over a decade now. But prices still seem to be going up. This is what happens in markets with little to no competition.

We'll use Europe for example. They have competition and their speeds are consistently getting better while their prices are going down. I know swedes that pay about $30 a month and get 100Mbps up and down data and also phone service as a package.

The size difference argument is a non argument. Many of our cities and states have higher population densities yet everyone still pays $50 a month for maybe 20Mbps down and something like 2Mbps up. It also doesn't hold water because a lot of areas have no broadband and many of them are not even that remote.

RE: Telecoms = Dummy Pipe
By Zaranthos on 12/21/2010 1:56:21 PM , Rating: 2
Nothing the government runs ever works well for long. It gets loaded down with bureaucratic nonsense and red tape. How's the post office doing these days? Terrible. How about that social security trust fund. Spent and gone. Government home loans and student loans? Far in debt. Medicare? Mostly unfunded and in terrible shape. There is no perfect world. There is no hope of some pie in the sky utopia where we all get our cake and eat it to. Life isn't fair. I just wish people would figure this out and quit thinking the government can fix everything. The more you try to let them fix the more you surrender your own freedom for shackles of an out of control government.

RE: Telecoms = Dummy Pipe
By room200 on 12/21/10, Rating: 0
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RE: Telecoms = Dummy Pipe
By Jaybus on 12/22/2010 5:06:32 PM , Rating: 2
I agree. I do not trust government to operate a nationwide network with anything resembling efficiency. I believe competitiveness could be brought to this market with two straight forward regulations.

1. An FCC license should require a standardized network sharing agreement with all carriers large and small.

2. Customer contract terms can be for no more than 30 days (month-to-month basis), and "setup" fees are limited.

The first has the effect of allowing anyone with some sort of network cable running to the premises to purchase a service plan from any carrier in the US that they so choose. The sharing agreements dictate the percentage of the bandwidth allocated to them, and they are responsible for that same percentage of the maintenance costs.

The second allows consumers to change carriers anytime they wish without undue penalty. This is crucial. Customers must be able to easily switch service to the provider they deem best for their purposes. Providers must not be allowed to essentially enslave customers with unreasonable lock-in agreements as is being done in the wireless sector.

Once competition is introduced into the market at the local level, the rest will take care of itself.

RE: Telecoms = Dummy Pipe
By HypocriteWatch on 12/21/2010 2:46:41 PM , Rating: 4
My God! You really think that a big dumb pipe from the Government will be a good thing? Are you crazy? Today's news has more regulation on the Internet - BY THE GOVERNMENT YOU SEEM TO LIKE!

Please, many private pipes is a million times better than counting on a censoring government to provide for you. It's almost a little sick to think that I would have to rely on the government to provide that service.

Please noooo...

