Re: Should we oppose the Data Superhighway/NII?

["Perry E. Metzger" <pmetzger@lehman.com>]

Mike Godwin says:
> > Concretely observed, there is no obstacle to the sort of national
> > network we want other than the government.
> 
> Untrue. The cable providers often are putting up obstacles of their own, as
> are telco providers. The impossibility of Tim May's X-rated cable channel
> illustrates this point. The market can't function--Tim and those like him
> who want a certain type and variety of programming--unless there is access
> to the information infrastructure. Telling every would-be X-rated cable
> viewer to build his own cable system is not a solution.

X-Rated movies are a huge business. I suspect cable companies would
love to broadcast them. However, there are government impediments to
transmitting them -- fears of lawsuits, FCC intervention, and criminal
charges being among them.

Of course, this is comparing apples and oranges -- when TV channels
per se cease to exist, which is inevitable, it will be difficult if
not impossible for bluenoses to detect when such services are in use.

> According to standard free-market theory, the existence of demand
> (Tim and friends) for an affordable product ought to stimulate a supplier
> for that product.

Of course it would, BARRING LEGAL OBSTACLES. Again, as before, the
market is not currently free -- the obstacles are government created.

Perry