Re: Should we oppose the Data Superhighway/NII?

[habs@panix.com (Harry S. Hawk)]

I have stayed quiet on this topic but now feel I should put my
views forward.

1) I feel the government, in this case and others, should never
force the adoption of any particular technology (ISDN, ATM, etc)

2) While I am pro-market in the Extropian Way, I think that what we
need from the government is the following:

a) recognize that Cable and Telco are the same business
b) set very minimum standards required for basic services
        (basic telco, basic cable (e.g., local broadcast channels)
c) I don't see data as a basic service
d) apply the same regulation to both companies.
e) Let cable and telco compete head to head

3) Let the rich pay for it ;)

There is this liberal idea that only the rich will get the "good stuff"
That their kids will study on-line with Nobel prize winners while the
poor kids will still be using chalk and erasers in the "slums."

The same liberals what to raise taxes "on the Rich," so they can pay
for things. 

I feel if you don't "push" for universal access the systems will be build
that way anyway. They will cost $$$, and the "rich" will buy into it. As
economies of scale and scope come into pay, the cost of these systems will
come down and the poor will get it too. Thus, the rich have paid for it,
and the poor have got it cheap.

There is one problem with this. In NYC, the "POOR" are already
bigger users of CLASS services (call waiting, three way dialing, etc.),
and of Cable premium channels; no marketer is going to leave
this group unwired.

No one is going to do an Interactive Test Market in the Lower East Side,
but trust me systems will be built there.


--
Harry S. Hawk  -  Extropian  
                                                        habs@extropy.org
In Service to Extropians since 1991