 AlpinePremium
join:2000-01-11
Atlanta, GA | reply to nasadude
Re: Can Someone Explain... So how will more regulations encourage anything other than more "faux" competition? What's the end goal here in your opinion? Will bunches of companies just jump into the fray and be viable all of a sudden if we regulate more?
I have yet to see the pro-regulation crowd come up with an intelligent explanation for how more regulation will equal more competition. Reality has to set in at some point.
Adam |
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| You make no sense. Regulation != competition. The reason the utilities are regulated, is because they are natural monopolies.
Lets look at broadband, and see WHY it's a natural monopoly.
#1: Barrier to entry. The cost of anyone NEW trying to enter the market is prohibitive. The existing telecom infrastrcture was paid for by the taxpayers. The existing cable infrastructure was paid for by the residents.
#2: No close substitutes. Umm, there is no substitute for broadband. Wifi, etc, are all limited, small deployements.
#3: Price maker. Umm, look at 'comcast', the so called 'bmw' of the internet. Overpriced for less service.
#4: Blocked Entry: Umm, telco's buying senators. nuff said.
Granted, the truth is we are a in a cartel a centralized institution is set up to partially coordinate the actions of several independent providers (which is a form of oligopoly). You have cable or DSL. Period.
However, By definition a monopoly allows exclusive sale or purchase of a product or service, however the control and exclusivity of a human need in the hands of another human is at its most dangerous when its basic availability is at stake - sooner or later the exclusivity is mishandled either intentionally or not. Slavery was clearly the ultimate result of monopoly. Look to your own future if we don't stop the megacorps NOW.
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| reply to Alpine
said by Alpine:So how will more regulations encourage anything other than more "faux" competition? What's the end goal here in your opinion? Will bunches of companies just jump into the fray and be viable all of a sudden if we regulate more? I have yet to see the pro-regulation crowd come up with an intelligent explanation for how more regulation will equal more competition. Reality has to set in at some point. Adam Look at the history on how cell phone systems started in this country and get back to me after you do some reading. |
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| reply to Alpine
said by Alpine:So how will more regulations encourage anything other than more "faux" competition? What's the end goal here in your opinion? Will bunches of companies just jump into the fray and be viable all of a sudden if we regulate more? I have yet to see the pro-regulation crowd come up with an intelligent explanation for how more regulation will equal more competition. Reality has to set in at some point. Adam Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?
The 1996 telecom bill mandated (sounds like regulation to me!) line sharing by the ILECs. Sometime after the bill passed, there appeared these companies called Earthlink, Mindspring,Covad and others that came into being to provide internet service. You remember all those companies doncha? Hardly anyone left now and those that are left are barely hanging on; after all, line sharing was done away with a year or so ago.
For a while there actually was competition, because of a REGULATION requiring line sharing. Now this particular experiment didn't last very long because the ILECs fought tooth and nail against the CLECs, including doing illegal things to prevent them from connecting customers for DSL. Bell Atlantic/Verizon was fined a few $$$B (yes, that's a B for billion) for violating these laws/regulations. Ho hum, what's a few billion to destroy your competition?
I've got a regulation for you: mandate line sharing and severely and immediately levy HUGE fines against any ILEC obstructing or otherwise preventing competitors from offering and connecting service. I don't know if there are any companies out there willing to try again, but we might just get competition. |
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