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Rural Broadband to Replace POTS As Beneficiary of US Gov't Subsidies
IDG reports that "The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has voted to overhaul a decades-old system of telephone subsidies in rural areas, with the funding refocused on broadband deployment. The FCC's vote Thursday would transition the Universal Service Fund's (USF's) high-cost program, now subsidizing voice service, to a new Connect America Fund focused on broadband deployment to areas that don't yet have service. The FCC will cap the broadband fund at $4.5 billion a year, the current budget of the USF high-cost program, funded by a tax on telephone bills." That cap, says Reuters, is "the first budget constraint ever imposed on the program."
Other economists claim that natural monopoly is a myth, and effects attributed to natural monopoly are in fact caused by 1. local government ownership of roads and 2. local government's failure to efficiently value permits to tear up those roads to install pipes, conduits, etc.
Back when I was pricing out my broadband options, I checked out Comcast's (heavily advertised) three for one package. TV, broadband and telephone. But when I called them, they told me that, based on my address, Verizon was my telephone provider and they wouldn't compete with them. On the other hand, Verizon wouldn't install DSL because 'Comcast provides broadband in your neighborhood'. Covad checked out my line and was more than happy to take over the loop and install voice/DSL. But Verizon told them that they couldn't have the pair (they'd take it and reassign it to a second residential service if ever I dropped my Verizon line before leasing it to a CLEC).
This has nothing to do with permits and installing facilities. It has everything to do with not throwing telecom execs in prison for Sherman Antitrust Act violations. If you want to keep your NSA fiber taps running in the switching facilities, you're going to have to grant these bastards immunity from the law.
Have gnu, will travel.
No, he's complaining that the current sorta-kinda half monopoly, half unregulated market thing isn't working. He would prefer the government do it right and own the lines.
I don't know about his sitch but I actually tried that with my mom. She is exactly TWO BLOCKS from the end of their connections on both DSL and cable and NEITHER would run it. So I contacted a friend that was a lineman at the time, had him come out and figure up the cost of the line (about $2300 including the time for him and the bucket truck) and ran the line in my mom's place to the road and contacted the cableco. I was told they would need $35,000 PLUS at least a dozen homes PLUS a guarantee that each home would take the max package PLUS another 35% surcharge on TOP of all that!
Finally in a level of sheer POed I cornered the PHB at the cableco and said WTF did he think he was doing and was told it is SOP to not run a single inch where they can't guarantee at LEAST 100% profit above the cost of the run IMMEDIATELY along with a similar profit for at least two years, but that was only for large jobs with big payoffs, for small jobs try ten times or more for their "effort". This is why they haven't run a single inch except to some condos that signed a crazy exclusive agreement in damned near 20 years, nobody will do shit in this country anymore unless insane profits are handed to them the instant they do it.
Frankly is it any wonder why we get the short bus to the info superhighway folks? Frankly we ought to nationalize the lines since they have ALREADY stolen $200 billion from We, The PEOPLE for nationwide broadband and all we got was the finger and an autographed pic of the CxOs snorting coke off their $1000 hookers with the "free' bonuses we gave them. Well after dealing with them for over 20 damned years trying to get them to run a lousy two fucking blocks I say, to quote Mr garrison "You go to hell! You go to hell and you die!" We need to nationalize and FORCE competition if we are ever to get anywhere. If they want a monopoly? That's fiber to door in return for 15 years. If its a place that currently isn't being served (REALLY served, not the horseshit like that .gov self reporting site which says my mom has 6 choices not counting sat when even in the middle of town i only have two and she has none) we'll give them 25. if they fall down on the job and stop hooking people in the neighborhood up, or trying claiming a single house on the edge of the area means the whole area is served? then bye bye monopoly, the lines are opened and its a free for all.
Just look at how opening up the POTS gave us all this new tech and new devices. If we could take the lines away from the cartels (who should be banned from having both lines and media as a conflict of interest) we could see a similar explosion of new ideas in broadband. but as it is its just the 1%ers at the top bleeding the country dry and giving back ever shittier service in return.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.