Funny how this FCC Chairman says one thing, using flowery rhetoric intended to
put everyone to sleep, and then does exactly the opposite. "Internet freedom"
being, of course, the prime example, with TV and radio "localism" being a close
second. The rhetoric is a smokescreen. The intent is, conversely, to work to
promote the best interests of three or four companies only, hardly Internet
"freedom" and hardly radio and TV "localism." (Although on the latter, I don't
think the majority of people give a damn, even when they feel compelled to wax
eloquent and verbose on the subject. Much as the Chairman does.)
It's downright cynical, the way he keeps doing this. Fortunately, his attitude
is so overt and in-your-face that even the two Democrat FCC commissioners have
pointed it out, repeatedly. In fact, most people seem to have figured it out.
And yet, here's a case where some are taking the flowery rhetoric at face
value, and ignoring the realities under it all. Even while buttering up the
Chairman in the process. This is a case of rural electric coops taking on the
task of deploying broadband service too, leveraging off the infrastructure they
already have in place for the electricity distribution job. Including not just
the poles, but in some cases, also the fiber optics already in place, to
control their electric power distribution.
----------------------------------------
https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-348606A1.pdf
REMARKS OF JAY SCHWARZ, WIRELINE ADVISOR TO FCC CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI, AT THE 2018
CEO CLOSE-UP CONFERENCE OF THE NATIONAL RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION
PALM DESERT, CA, JANUARY 8, 2018
...
That's a big reason why, on his first day as Chairman, he delivered a speech to
the Commission's staff declaring that his number one priority would be closing
the digital divide so that every American can enjoy the benefits of high-speed
Internet. Over the years, many people have likened closing the rural digital
divide to the rural electrification effort-and for good reason.
Both electricity and high-speed connectivity are what economists like myself
would call "general purpose technologies." The defining characteristic of these
technologies is that they enable new advances and innovations. Electrification
kicked the Industrial Revolution into overdrive and fundamentally transformed
the way we lead our lives. It made lighting and home appliances equally
accessible in rural and urban areas. What's more, it meant that access to
electricity was not a barrier to factories locating in small towns. ... A key
similarity between electricity in the early 20th century and broadband
connectivity in the early 21st is that if you aren't plugged in, it's nearly
impossible to be a full participant in our economy or democracy.
...
Most of you are not in the broadband business. But the early success of those
who are has been pretty remarkable. Anyone who doubts the efficacy of electric
coops offering Internet access should take a look at Missouri, a state in which
Chairman Pai recently visited with electric cooperatives. This story is going
to take a minute, but stay with me.
...
The main opportunity I wanted to highlight today is the Commission's upcoming
Connect America Fund Phase II auction. Or-since we are learning each other's
acronyms-CAF 2. Our Connect America Fund auction will use competitive bidding
to efficiently allocate up to $2 billion over the next ten years to support
deployment of networks providing both voice and broadband service, thereby
expanding broadband availability to many more unserved Americans. ...
-----------------------------------------
Indeed, and parenthetically, *neutrality of the service* is one fundamental
concept that must apply, to both electrification and Internet broadband, and
telephone service, to reap any real benefits. This is almost as fundamental as
free speech is to democracy. Something clearly, mysteriously, beyond the grasp
of this Chairman.
The two key aspects of what Schwartz is presenting are:
1. Use of the Connect America Fun (CAF). Push comes to shove, for rural
service, some kind of government assistance program becomes essential. And then
the second ingredient,
2. The services are provided by coops. A pure profit motive is *not* assumed to
be sufficient. Here's the definition of coop:
http://nfca.coop/definition/
"What makes a co-op unique is that it is owned and democratically governed by
its members, the people who use its products or services, or are employed by
the business. The purpose of the enterprise it to not to accumulate profit for
investors, but to meet the goals and aspirations of its members. For this
reason, any surplus generated by a co-op is reinvested in the business or
returned to the members based on their use of its services. Membership in the
co-op is obtained through the purchase of a member share in the business, which
does not change in value (in contrast to publicly traded corporations) and
entitles the member to one vote in matters that come before the members."
So the bottom line is, in some cases, the profit motive does not provide the
service needed. The Chairman's reckless lunge to reward pure greed, at the
expense of everything else, is not what finally solves problems like service to
rural communities. (Or for that matter, like ample competition even in suburban
and urban communities.) Ain't that a kick in the pants? People are taking the
Chairman's politically correct rhetoric at face value, and dismissing the
cynical rest of it. No one here is praising the wisdom of the Chairman's repeal
of net neutrality. No one is pretending they need this provision to make things
work. Conversely, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if there were net neutrality
provisions right in the coop rules.
Bert
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
FreeLists.org
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.