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Trump's FCC Chairman Pick Ajit Pai Vows To Close Broadband 'Digital Divide' (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On his first full day as Federal Communications Commission Chairman, Republican Ajit Pai yesterday spoke to FCC staff and said one of his top priorities will be bringing broadband to all Americans. "One of the most significant things that I've seen during my time here is that there is a digital divide in this country -- between those who can use cutting-edge communications services and those who do not," Pai said (transcript). "I believe one of our core priorities going forward should be to close that divide -- to do what's necessary to help the private sector build networks, send signals, and distribute information to American consumers, regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or anything else. We must work to bring the benefits of the digital age to all Americans." Pai promised to "hear all points of view -- to approach every issue with a literal open door and a figurative open mind," as the FCC "confronts this and many other challenges." Pai didn't offer any specific initiatives for closing the digital divide yesterday, but in September 2016 he outlined a "digital empowerment agenda." The plan included "remov[ing] regulatory barriers to broadband deployment," changes to pole attachment rules, and "dig once" policies that install broadband conduit when roads are dug up during any road and highway construction project. He also proposed setting aside 10 percent of spectrum auction proceeds for deployment of mobile broadband in rural areas. Pai suggested requiring mobile carriers to build out service to 95 percent of the population in areas where they have spectrum licenses; he noted that some licenses only required service for 66 percent or 75 percent of residents, a problem in sparsely populated rural areas. At the same time, he proposed extending initial spectrum license terms from 10 years to 15 years to give the carriers more time to complete the construction. Pai also proposed creating "gigabit opportunity zones" in areas where average household income is below 75 percent of the national median. In these areas, state and local lawmakers would have to "adopt streamlined, broadband deployment-friendly policies," and there would be tax incentives and tax credits for companies building high-speed networks.
Yes, we want to bring broadband to all Americans... so my ex-clients can gouge the shit out of them with rent-seeking behavior, unneeded service caps and fees, and charging content providers that aren't directly owned by the ISP access fees after we shitcan Net Neutrality!
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Given how much support he got from poor rural voters? I think you're missing the mark here.
Examine even your most deeply held beliefs. Nobody is always right.
Given that we pay the among the highest broadband prices in the world yet are well behind many other countries I think we pay more than enough. We're getting gouged by the likes of Comcast. Also, there's the fact that in many places in the country they make it difficult or impossible for things like municipal broadband which typically has lower prices and better service. Given the fact that he's from the telecom industry, I expect things to get worse, not better, for rural America since it's not in the best interest of the telecom businesses to serve them given the higher costs involved. He's already come out against things like net neutrality.
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This is the same guy who just a few days ago said eliminating regulations like net neutrality will result in more jobs,
Fewer regulations mean more freedom for companies to try different approaches to providing network services. That in turn, obviously means more jobs... and is better for consumers.
Net Neutrality was always a smokescreen dedicated to keeping the Comcasts of the world in control of providing network services, With that death grip loosened prices will fall and consumers will benefit. Take a look in four years and see if the broadband situation in the U.S. has not improved.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
If Pai is truly a believer in free market and competition, then don't stop at just knocking down net neutrality. Remove the regional monopolies that restrict where existing ISP's can and cannot do business. Remove roadblocks to cities building municipal fiber, since this only creates more competition so long as they're on a level playing field with private ISP's. Lift restrictions on last mile unbundling so that more companies can enter the market and offer competing services.
The fact is net neutrality was such a necessity only because there are few players in the market and limited choice for consumers. Who cares if ISP's can create fast lanes and throttle non-partnered content if I have a list of 20 ISP's with broadband speeds to choose from, since there will always be those whose model is to offer a more open package, even if it is at a higher price. The ISP's are crying about regulation, but only when it's regulations on what they can do. Once you talk about remove regulations on what their competitors can do, suddenly these restrictions need to be upheld. Because if you gave the average Comcast customer the option to choose another ISP with better customer service, no data caps, and more transparent billing practices they'd take it in a heartbeat, even if meant an increase in monthly price.
If Pai truly walks his talk and heavily deregulates the industry by removing barriers to entry and regional monopolies in addition to net neutrality, he'll be a far better FCC Commissioner than Wheeler ever was. If however he's yet another industry talking head who's only interested in removing consumer protections while still leaving in place industry friendly regulation, then nothing good will come from his chairmanship.
in September 2016 he outlined a "digital empowerment agenda." The plan included "removing regulatory barriers to broadband deployment,"
The only "barriers" that exist are those created by Republican politicians. At least 20 states, all controlled by Republicans, have passed laws prohibiting cities from building their own broadband networks, even when the local cable and phone monopolies refuse to provide service at a reasonable price. Or at any price. And the reason is simple, It would create competition and that would force the broadband monopolies to increase speed, lower their prices and abandon bullshit practices like data caps.
These laws were written by lobbyists from all the big cable and phone monopolies, including Mr. Pai's former employer, Verizon.
If you think something is suddenly going to change, I've got a jar of magic beans I want to sell you.
...and there would be tax incentives and tax credits for companies building high-speed networks.
Translation: "Let's give billions more taxpayer dollars to the worthless telecoms/cable companies."
The problem Chairman Pai must now confront is not unlike what his fellow Republicans in Congress are facing with healthcare: the market does not always produce socially optimal results. There is no market solution in which insurance companies will look at 55-year old cancer patient with diabetes, kidney stones, two knees in need of replacement, and a raging case of herpes and think to themselves "Hmmm...I smell Profit!". From the insurance companies' perspective, the most profitable healthcare plan for that fellow involves a coffin.
Likewise, if it costs $20-50K in trenching and cabling to connect a single rural user at halfway decent broadband speeds, there's no way the ISPs are going to ever break even on that customer if he's paying $50-100 a month. Hence, the market completely ignores the poor and those living in the sticks.
It's admirable that Chairman Pai recognizes that universal Internet access is central to economic prosperity, and I wish him the best of luck despite the source of his nomination, but achieving universal broadband will not happen unless there is a mandate from the government that it happen, as well as considerable funding in the form of tax credits or direct expenditures. Waving around hands and solemnly intoning "The Market knows all! The Market solves all!" will not make those realities go away any more than it would in the healthcare debate.
I am unaware of anyone ever being denied internet access because of gender, religion, or sexual orientation. However, there are racial disparities in internet access owing to our history of segregation. Many of the high-poverty neighborhoods bypassed by ISPs are, not surprisingly, places that fell victim to redlining and the urban blight that followed it.
Except that's not what happened. No lives were saved. Nobody is better off.
People are currently forced to buy insurance, or else pay a penalty to the IRS on their taxes. But people can't afford the monthly premiums and even if they somehow come up with enough money to pay the premiums, the deductible is so high that they end up having to pay for everything themselves anyway. Because of the additional burden of paying hundreds of dollars a month for insurance, that they can't use, they are actually worse off than they were when they had no insurance. At least no insurance was free.
Wow. I've got to say, this is the first time I'm actually impressed by a Trump appointment.
All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
No, you misunderstand. They want to "help private businesses build the networks". Translation: They want to bribe the cable companies and phone companies who refused to build out the network to serve the poor, putting money into their pockets in exchange for a promise of a buildout that will never actually happen except on paper, same as always happens when the Republicans are in control.
There is, as you rightfully point out, exactly one way to build infrastructure that is truly universal, and that's for local governments to foot the bill for construction and then lease access to companies that provide service. That way, the government can bring in multiple providers with minimal up-front costs per provider, thus allowing real, honest-to-goodness competition in broadband service, without the giant noose of the infrastructure construction hanging around the ISPs necks.
What we need right now is a Roosevelt, not a Reagan—a builder, not a financier.
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