aka the "separation principle" ( Tim Wu - the Master Switch) What surprised me is that when I put his point to Richard R.John at the Columbia Big media event back in Nov <http://isoc-ny.org/p2/?p=1563> - John totally agreed with it, citing the precedent of the telegraph companies being locked out of the telephone business back in the day.
j On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 10:52 PM, George Bonser <gbon...@seven.com> wrote: > > > > It is only in very recent times that we have been able to overlay > > Internet on both cable and television, and to have television > > competition via satellite. > > In "the old days" the phone company didn't provide "content". You > called someone and the people at each end provided the content or the > data going over the network. The phone company simply provided the > network. I still believe the biggest mistake we made was breaking up > the Bell System. We should have let them be, regulated the crap out of > them, and then said "no, you can't get into the business of providing > content". They system should have been left as a regulated public > utility. > > > To that end, I think the US would be much better off with fiber to the > > home on a single distribution infrastructure. That could be owned and > > operated by the municipality (like the water system) or owned and > > operated by a corporation granted an exclusive right to service an > area > > (think telephone, at least pre CLEC). > > Yup, bring back "The Bell System". > > > > Where you immediately run into a snag is the next layer up. Should > the > > government provide IP services, if the fiber is government owned? > > Should private companies be required to offer competitors access to > > provide IP services if the fiber is privately owned? > > I would say they provide network access only, not content. They would > be kept out of providing content and kept in the business of reliably > connecting content to consumer. That would be their focus. > > > Having looked around the world I personally believe most communities > > would be best served if the government provided layer-1 distribution, > > possibly with some layer 2 switching, but then allowed any commercial > > entity to come in and offer layer 3 services. > > I don't. What happens when the "government" then decides what content > is and is not allowed to go over their network? If one had a site that > provided a view that the government didn't like, would they cut it off? > I want the government very strictly limited in what they can and cannot > do and I want them to have to go to an outside entity for things like > lawful intercept because it is another check on their power. A private > entity might insist that there is a proper warrant or subpoena while the > government might simply decide to snoop first, get the paperwork later. > Keeping the network at arm's length from the government helps to make > sure there is another entity in the loop. > > > For simplicity of > > argument I like people to envision the local government fiber agency > > (like your water authority) dropping off a 1 port fiber 4 port copper > > switch in your basement. > > Big difference. Water is not a good analogy. The "content" in that > case is from a central source and everyone gets the same thing. With > the network, you have people communicating back and forth and much of > that communications is private or expected to be private (say, a phone > call or a secure financial transaction). If a private entity screws up, > it is much easier to fine them or fire the person responsible than it is > to punish a government department or fire a government worker. Besides, > we really don't need yet more people on the government payroll. > > Though I do agree that it is a natural monopoly. It should be managed > by a regulated utility that is explicitly prohibited from providing the > content, only provide access through the network. > > > > -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org -------------------------------------------------------------- -
