[9826] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
re: bill text draft 2: Telecommunications Competition Act (fwd)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Russell Nelson)
Sat Jan 22 01:04:38 1994
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 1994 23:16:27 EST
From: "Russell Nelson" <nelson@crynwr.com>
To: "adam fast" <adamfast@u.washington.edu>
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
On Fri, 21 Jan 1994 11:19:12 -0800 (PST), Jeffrey Sterling <jeffgs@netcom.com> wrote:
> From: mrc@ikkoku-kan.panda.com
> > Gack! What a terrible idea. A perfect example of government fixing what
> > isn't broke. This bill will create a new bureaucracy which will interfere
> > with small service providers by burying them under a mound of paperwork. Only
> > the big guys who can afford to have a legal department to fill out the
> > paperwork (and pay the government fees) can be in the business.
> The bill simply allows entities such as fiber companies, phone companies,
> electric utilities, and cable companies to string wire as long as the
> networks interconnect.
>
> Local interconnection and open access to CNAPs give the best chance for
> low cost, broadband access.
Well, but as a philosophical matter, if you have enough support to
pass a law to force these people to interconnect, then you have a
market big enough that people will get it anyway. If you don't have
enough support, but the law passes anyway, why are you passing a law
that most people don't want? If not enough people are willing to put
their own bucks up to pay for something, who are you to force them to
do so??
The only peaceful purpose the government serves is to supply things
the market can't easily provide: clean air, clean water, universal
access at a single price, etc.
I must add that I highly support these efforts to provide universal
access. You see, I live way out in a rural area, and I'd love to
have you urbanites subsidize my Internet|NII access. :)
--
-russ <nelson@crynwr.com> ftp.msen.com:pub/vendor/crynwr/crynwr.wav
Crynwr Software | Crynwr Software sells packet driver support.
11 Grant St. | +1 315 268 1925 (9201 FAX) | Quakers do it in the light
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