The Coming Internet Monopolies

scrm writes "'The Federal Communications Commission is quietly handing over control of the broadband Internet to a handful of massive corporations according to this Salon article." Very important stuff; Slashdot has covered this before, but this is a great article which sums up everything that has gone on over the past few years.

Comments

Monopolies plural?

[GMontag]

Okay, first stop misusing the word "momopoly", it is defined as ONE entity controlling a market.

Second, figure out what market you are talking about. If it is high-speed data access then one company owning the local/regional/national cable infrastructure is not a monopoly IF (as is the case) there are DLS and other providers within that territory. Lookup the famous monopoly case against Celophane, the Celophane manufacturer won because the market was wrapping material, not the fact that one manufacturer makes one wildly popular product.

Look folks, the more we keep bastardizing the language the more confusing it will be to communicate.

How Baby Bells FIT the Definition

[JohnDenver]

First, Let's refer to...

Marriam-Webster
1. exclusive ownership through legal privilege, command of supply, or concerted action
2. exclusive possession or control
3. a commodity controlled by one party

Notice the word exclusive as in exclusive ownership, exclusive control, exclusive possession

Litmus Test

Q. Do the Baby Bell's have exclusive control over the publicly owned telephone telecommunications infrastructure?

A. No, They currently have Primary Control now as they are required to share thier control with other providers.

Q. If the current FCC proposal allowing Baby Bells to deny access to the network access, will the Baby Bells return to thier Monopoly status?

A. Yes, The current FCC proposal will give EXCLUSIVE rights to the public infrastructure, making the Baby Bells Regional Monopolies. IE, No more Covad or Flashcom.