 cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:5
 ·Frontier FiOS
| It's a necessary luxury It's both. It's necessary in the sense that if you are going to compete with the competition, provide services that your customers demand, and communicate quickly with your supply chain, you gotta have it.
It's a luxury in the sense though that your business isn't going to shut down tomorrow if you aren't wired.
In my opinion, internet access is like cable tv. You can survive without it, you can get an advantage if you have it, and most people have it to the point where it seems like a necessity like running water, a telephone, or electricity.
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"What gives them the right to come in and do this?" she said. - Lady complaining that she was getting FIOS in her backyard. |
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 johnny_tPremium
join:2004-03-21
Palo Alto, CA | Its necessary, its ashame that we are even debating this when other countries have it without a question. |
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cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Frontier FiOS
1 edit | said by johnny_t:Its necessary, its ashame that we are even debating this when other countries have it without a question. Don't interpret usefulness or availability as necessity.
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"What gives them the right to come in and do this?" she said. - Lady complaining that she was getting FIOS in her backyard. |
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johnny_tPremium
join:2004-03-21
Palo Alto, CA | said by cdru:said by johnny_t:Its necessary, its ashame that we are even debating this when other countries have it without a question. Don't interpret usefulness or availability as necessity. I see broadband as communication, without it we would be living in the Stone Ages. |
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cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Frontier FiOS
| said by johnny_t:I see broadband as communication, without it we would be living in the Stone Ages. Good point. I mean, how on earth did people every communicate in the 80's and 90's before broadband was what it was today.
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"What gives them the right to come in and do this?" she said. - Lady complaining that she was getting FIOS in her backyard. |
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Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
| Though I agree with luxury, I've found that my state business tax department is "paperless" and moved from mail-in forms to online or phone. You can never get through via phone so you are rather forced to use the internet.
Its become a forced-convenience. Still, not a utility but I am sure this is was casslowns (AT&T, SBC...) execs are professing, under their clouds of pipes. Cough. |
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 OmegaDisplaced OhioanPremium
join:2002-07-30
Cheyenne, WY | reply to johnny_t
said by johnny_t:said by cdru:said by johnny_t:Its necessary, its ashame that we are even debating this when other countries have it without a question. Don't interpret usefulness or availability as necessity. I see broadband as communication, without it we would be living in the Stone Ages. ooo, so from 100,000BC to 1996 we were living in the stone age. That's good to know.
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My site
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| reply to cdru
Other things started off as utilities when they were considered more to be just "useful" as well. People survived without running water before that became a utility. What changed was how beneficial it would be to build the infrastructure for everybody.
Times change, which includes communication. The usefulness and benefits to the community will decide if it becomes a utility. Not the need of the service to survive. And yes... some businesses would indeed virtually shut down if they weren't wired (and I'm not just talking about web based businesses either). |
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johnny_tPremium
join:2004-03-21
Palo Alto, CA
3 edits | reply to Omega
My point was without ''communication'' we would be in the stone age. Everyone living on a big piece of land & not knowing other lands existed.
NTS: quote is broken & refer to Ice Age |
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 rawwhidePremium
join:2000-09-03
The Sticks
 ·AT&T DSL Service
| reply to SRFireside
said by SRFireside:Other things started off as utilities when they were considered more to be just "useful" as well. People survived without running water before that became a utility. What changed was how beneficial it would be to build the infrastructure for everybody. Times change, which includes communication. The usefulness and benefits to the community will decide if it becomes a utility. Not the need of the service to survive. And yes... some businesses would indeed virtually shut down if they weren't wired (and I'm not just talking about web based businesses either). Very good points. I was just thinking the same thing as I was reading threw the posts. Utilities are not necessarily necessities. You can live without water or electricity, but would choose to have those services because they are very beneficial to every day life. How much time would be lost if we all still had to chop down wood to heat or homes. It comes down to efficiency versus non-efficiency in how we go about our lives. I feel that broadband is very efficient in being able to get to information that all of us use on a daily basis. Times change and so do the things we consider as being a utility. It has nothing to do with it being a luxury or a necessity because I could equally argue that electricity is a luxury.
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I didnt do it ... HUH!!! |
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 9143930615,000 Watts of Bass Power
join:2002-10-16
New Milford, CT | said by rawwhide:How much time would be lost if we all still had to chop down wood to heat or homes. It comes down to efficiency versus non-efficiency in how we go about our lives. How much time is lost to working 5 extra months out of the year to pay income taxes and six extra months out of the year to pay property taxes? I'll take a few days chopping wood over commuting 80 miles to some miserable job for abuse and subsistence wages anyday.
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Take care,
Mark & Mary Ann Weiss
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: »www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
'»www.mwcomms.com/auctions.htm
'»www.mwcomms.com
'»www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
Stereo Feed! |
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| reply to SRFireside
If business needs it so much they will pay for a private T1 since it is available almost anywhere. Broadband is a luxury not a utility. Telephone was decided as a utility and now it has screwed over broadband among other things. Besides you don't need telephone really other than to dial emergency services. Really do you think you would be up a creek without telephone? Of course not I think you can survive not talking to your friends untill you see them the next day. Now if a business needs one to survive then they get it, but that is different. |
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rawwhidePremium
join:2000-09-03
The Sticks Reviews:
·AT&T DSL Service
1 edit | reply to 91439306
said by 91439306:said by rawwhide:How much time would be lost if we all still had to chop down wood to heat or homes. It comes down to efficiency versus non-efficiency in how we go about our lives. How much time is lost to working 5 extra months out of the year to pay income taxes and six extra months out of the year to pay property taxes? I'll take a few days chopping wood over commuting 80 miles to some miserable job for abuse and subsistence wages anyday. Your point is what? It was such a brilliant statement and so well put the point flew right over my head. Are you saying there isn't the infrastructure for BB? If so I would say that's not the case. BPL can run over power lines they just need work out the kinks. I can only guess at what your point is. Hopefully that was it and that is what I answered. I hope I didn't just blow hot air and steam.
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I didnt do it ... HUH!!! |
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9143930615,000 Watts of Bass Power
join:2002-10-16
New Milford, CT | said by rawwhide:said by 91439306:said by rawwhide:How much time would be lost if we all still had to chop down wood to heat or homes. It comes down to efficiency versus non-efficiency in how we go about our lives. How much time is lost to working 5 extra months out of the year to pay income taxes and six extra months out of the year to pay property taxes? I'll take a few days chopping wood over commuting 80 miles to some miserable job for abuse and subsistence wages anyday. Your point is what? It was such a brilliant statement and so well put the point flew right over my head. Are you saying there isn't the infrastructure for BB? If so I would say that's not the case. BPL can run over power lines they just need work out the kinks. I can only guess at what your point is. Hopefully that was it and that is what I answered. I hope I didn't just blow hot air and steam. The point is quite simply that I don't need a bigger government to support. Making broadband into a necessity/utility would mean the creation of yet another multi-billion dollar government agency/agencies across the nation, at our expense. I already pay 92% of my income in some form of tax. I don't need to increase my bloodletting anymore.
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Take care,
Mark & Mary Ann Weiss
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: »www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
'»www.mwcomms.com/auctions.htm
'»www.mwcomms.com
'»www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
Stereo Feed! |
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rawwhidePremium
join:2000-09-03
The Sticks Reviews:
·AT&T DSL Service
2 edits | said by 91439306:The point is quite simply that I don't need a bigger government to support. Making broadband into a necessity/utility would mean the creation of yet another multi-billion dollar government agency/agencies across the nation, at our expense. I already pay 92% of my income in some form of tax. I don't need to increase my bloodletting anymore. I fail to see where you or I pay for utilities if we don't have them. No one forces you to pay for water services. I certainly do not pay for your water services or any one elses water service directly or in-directly. 92% that's severely exaggerated. The average American total tax burden in 2005 was 32.1 percent. taxfoundation.org Do you have to pay for the expansion or deployment of broadband? Maybe slightly in higher monthly fees to companies doing the expanding. Guess what your already paying for it now so it makes no difference. The size of the government has nothing to do with it. If politicians can squeeze money out of something its going to happen whether we like it or not. As far as agencies being created for broadband, guess what its to late they already exist. GOP aims at broadband agency One example of an agency in Detroit, Michigan and you can rest assured they are everywhere.
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I didnt do it ... HUH!!! |
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9143930615,000 Watts of Bass Power
join:2002-10-16
New Milford, CT | Have you ever heard of the FSUF tax? Look on your phone bill and tell me you're not paying for rural phone installations. |
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| I'm looking at my phone bill now. Nope... no FSUF charges. Maybe it's because I use VOIP. You do have choices. |
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| reply to grandpinaple
said by grandpinaple:Really do you think you would be up a creek without telephone? Of course not I think you can survive not talking to your friends untill you see them the next day. Now if a business needs one to survive then they get it, but that is different. I think you are missing my point. Utilities aren't utilities because they are needed to survive. They are utilities because they are at a point where they are considered very useful and beneficial to the community. Thus it being termed utility instead of necessity. |
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rawwhidePremium
join:2000-09-03
The Sticks Reviews:
·AT&T DSL Service
1 edit | reply to 91439306
said by 91439306:Have you ever heard of the FSUF tax? Look on your phone bill and tell me you're not paying for rural phone installations. That was the point I was trying to make. If you dont subscribe to the service then you will be out nothing. However, if you do subscribe to the service the company providing the service and politicians are going to charge you for future development in the way of higher service fees and taxes.
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HUH!!! Sekurecom |
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