[1st-mile-nm] Susan Crawford on Why U.S. Internet Access is Slow, Costly, and Unfair on Vimeo

[Gary Gomes]

Steve,

 

I read your magazine and appreciate your efforts in promoting broadband and
recognize that video content providers are a huge problem, but  I hope that
you do not mean to suggest that two suppliers equals effective competition.

 

There are countless studies that document the fact that oligopolists act
just  like monopolists - even absent overt collusion.  It is just the nature
of the beast.

 

The problem in the US is that we have virtually unregulated monopoly/duopoly
for-profit companies running a public utility service (cable and fiber
plant), another oligopoly running the content creation (networks origin) as
well as over-the-air waves, and a third duopoly running cellular.  Is it any
wonder they do not compete on price?

 

Do you really believe that cost of the subsidized phones is the reason for
the high US cellular rates?     The numbers suggest otherwise.

 

The fact is that unfettered  market competition does not work for the
consumer (in the long term) in the absence of a large number of potential
providers.

 

Gary

 

From: 1st-mile-nm-bounces at mailman.dcn.org
[mailto:1st-mile-nm-bounces at mailman.dcn.org] On Behalf Of Steve Ross
Sent: Monday, February 11, 2013 10:20 PM
To: Tom Johnson
Cc: Friam at redfish. com; 1st-Mile-NM
Subject: Re: [1st-mile-nm] Susan Crawford on Why U.S. Internet Access is
Slow, Costly, and Unfair on Vimeo

 

I'm a reluctant fan of Crawford and Moyers, but her book and this interview
miss the mark. There are major inaccuracies in the interview itself. For
instance, Crawford says Manhattan suffers from a Time Warner Cable monopoly,
although Verizon is bringing FiOS to every household in NYC. I have a small
apartment in Manhattan and I have a choice! So does Crawford, I suspect.

 

But the biggest problem is with the content providers, not the broadband
providers. Thanks to predatory practices among the content providers there
is almost no profit in video -- but they have to provide it. SOMEONE has to
pay for building the network, and that someone is the consumer of pure
Internet broadband. The providers need to get $20-30 profit per month per
subscriber to pay for the network, and they only get $5-10 from video, zero
from voice.

 

BTW, data we're publishing this month shows that fiber customers pay the
highest monthly fee for pure broadband access but they pay the least per
Mbps.

 

My magazine (www.bbcmag.com) calls for anyone to be able to build networks
and we have editorialized for public broadband. But between higher content
costs and less population density, and  oddities in pricing  (Europeans pay
low phone bills but pay $500+ for the phone!) most of what Crawford is
complaining about is not caused by the companies she faults. In this
interview, she comes across as either an idiot or a liar. She's better than
that.

 

On Mon, Feb 11, 2013 at 10:39 PM, Tom Johnson <tom at jtjohnson.com> wrote:

http://vimeo.com/59236702

Susan Crawford on Why U.S. Internet Access is Slow, Costly, and Unfair

-tj

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-- 
Steve Ross

Corporate Editor, Broadband Communities Magazine (www.bbcmag.com)
201-456-5933 mobile, 781-284-8810 landline
707-WOW-SSR3 (707-969-7773) Google Voice
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editorsteve at gmail.com

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