Re: Should we oppose the Data Superhighway/NII?

[Mike Godwin <mnemonic@eff.org>]

Jon writes:

> I thought we already had a data superhighway and what congress (et Al) is
> really talking about is a national system of on-ramps and off-ramps?

Not exactly. Not everyone recognizes the need and value of on and off
ramps.

More importantly, the NII is not about building more trunk lines so much
as it is about ensuring that the resulting infrastructure allows everyone
to be an information provider as well as consumer. There's money to be
made here, and lots of entrepreneurial opportunities, if the thing is 
done right.

You know, I was just thinking of Tim's comment about how he punted his
cable service. One of the reasons that cable is just "a vaster wasteland"
is that it follows the old cable/broadcaster paradigm--get a
government-supported, government-regulated monopoly in place, and let a
single provider (or a small set of providers) funnel their product into
the home.

But cable service would be far more valuable to me (and I'd pay more for
it) if I could, say, upload a video of my little girl taking her first
steps and send it to Tim. (Not that he'd necessarily pay for that
privilege, but you get the idea.)


--Mike