[1st-mile-nm] Broadband op-ed in today's Albuquerque Journal

[Pappas, Dennis]

Who ever is sending this needs to take me off the email list. I have little time to hear about what the government is and is not doing (let alone everyone's thoughts about it). Thank you for helping me alleviate unneeded congestion on my email.

-----Original Message-----
From: 1st-mile-nm-bounces at mailman.dcn.org [mailto:1st-mile-nm-bounces at mailman.dcn.org] On Behalf Of Gnarlodious
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:29 AM
Cc: 1st-mile-nm at mailman.dcn.org
Subject: Re: [1st-mile-nm] Broadband op-ed in today's Albuquerque Journal

On 7/27/10, Harris, Brian wrote:

> As long as the FCC hews to this mutually contradictory notion we will
> continue to be stuck in the dark ages.  There is ample evidence that
> firms won't invest in their infrastructure

The entire concept of "infrastructure investment" amounts to corporate welfare. The real solution is encouraging "Public Utility" approach to internet access, and to declare the wires (or fiber) to be "The Commons" which are owned by the public.

The water and sewage pipes going into our homes are not owned by any for-profit corporation for a good reason. Imagine a despotic business putting a meter on your sewage pipe, how much would it eventually cost you to flush your toilet? That is the situation under the current monopoly where either Comcast or Qwest OWNS the wire running into your house.

For a preview if where broadband is going, look at the trend with Cable TV in the decades since it was invented. Private investors "own"
that cable through the charter of a corporation. Yet every year the cables have become more pervasive and uglier, content has gotten ever more offensive and service has reached the expense level where it is a target for thieves. And who can blame them? Why pay through the nose for crap when you can steal it?

At very least, ISPs should be tightly regulated, like the gas company.
But ideally, "The Commons" should include information infrastructure just like it includes water pipes and public roads. The system works and let's kick the greedy corporations out!

-- Rachel Cogent, Santa Fe
http://Gnarlodious.com
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