| reply to bamabrad
Re: It's all about capitalism-not government regulation- said by bamabrad:Name ONE THING that the government runs or controls as well as a responsible corporation. *crickets chirping*
said by bamabrad:We need to make it easier for competition-give the consumer a fair choice and let the market decide- I'd rather have more competition than the FCC regulating Comcast. I'm tired of getting less than half of my advertised speeds more than half of the time. If any other hi-speed ISP was offering something in my area, I'd switch without even thinking about it. |
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 funchordsHelloPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA
kudos:5
3 edits | The government runs Interstate 5 better than a private corporation could.
I think that the government can run a broadband system better than a private corporation could. What it can't do is provide the add-on services most want from an ISP -- email, web space, and what have you. But as far as shipping the bits in an unbiased way, that's a perfect job for the government.
Can you imagine if AT&Timecastzon ran the post office? What would the mail system look like then?
The line coming to your house is a similar metaphor to the road or the sidewalk or the radio spectrum that comes to your house. On those common areas, the government can open markets to competition and simply back out of the way (except to resolve disputes). That is what it does, and it does so pretty well.
Where we see disaster is where government steps in where private business (or even private charity) ought to serve and vice versa. But there are appropriate roles for government.
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Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Hillsboro, Oregon
HTTP is the new Bandwidth Hog...
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FAQFixerPremium
join:2004-06-28
Powder Springs, GA
kudos:1 | said by funchords: Can you imagine if AT&Timecastzon ran the post office? What would the mail system look like then? So you are saying the Post Office is run much more efficiently than private delivery companies such as UPS/FedEx/DHS?
said by funchords:The government runs Interstate 5 better than a private corporation could. I think that the government can run a broadband system better than a private corporation could. Where we see disaster is where government steps in where private business (or even private charity) ought to serve and vice versa. But there are appropriate roles for government. Wow, Comrade...at least the trains would run on time! |
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EPS
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA | The trains on time? Do you have any experience at all with our public transportation system? Perhaps I'm colored by experience with the MBTA- the best part is you can use it to criticize both public and private systems, as the subway and bus system is 100% MBTA-run, while the commuter rail is ran by a private contractor, and both are always late! |
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| reply to funchords
Are you crazy? Lets talk about the national debt... or hey Social security... wait what about FEMAs response to hurricane Katrina.. that was some seriously awesome customer service. Oh and when are we going to be out of Iraq exactly?
If you think that "the line that runs into your house" is as simple to connect to the internet as connecting two roads with some asphalt, you got another thing coming. There's a reason you see Comcast & Verizon trucks everywhere....
So I guess according to you, "the government" could replace all ISPs, all BGP ASNs, and all edge technologies rolled up into one... while your at it go ahead and roll me one too... |
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 espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2
 ·Clear Wireless
| reply to funchords
said by funchords:Can you imagine if AT&Timecastzon ran the post office? What would the mail system look like then? Flat-rate postage, but heavy packages would be tossed aside as they would not be cost-effective to transport.
There would be talk of converting to pricing postage by weight, but lawsuits would be filed because that would deter people from mailing encyclopedias to their grandma, which afterall is a perfectly legal use of the postage system. |
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fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | reply to FAQFixer
Amtrak is an EXCEPTIONAL example of the government running a train system well.  |
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funchordsHelloPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA
kudos:5 | reply to FAQFixer
said by FAQFixer:said by funchords: Can you imagine if AT&Timecastzon ran the post office? What would the mail system look like then? So you are saying the Post Office is run much more efficiently than private delivery companies such as UPS/FedEx/DHS? No, I'm asking if you can imagine what the mail system would look like if AT&Timecastzon ran it. Do you not understand English?
Neither UPS/FedEx/DHS will deliver anything anywhere for less than a dollar, but I think the USPS is also a legal monopoly where competitive behavior against it is prohibited.
But back to my question -- would we have to pay to receive mail? Would we have to pay to receive more mail? If we got our newspaper in the mail, would our services be "bundled?" Would they read our correspondence to tell advertisers what things we were interested in?
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Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Hillsboro, Oregon
HTTP is the new Bandwidth Hog...
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funchordsHelloPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA
kudos:5 | reply to Arragnod
said by Arragnod :
Are you crazy? Lets talk about the national debt... or hey Social security... wait what about FEMAs response to hurricane Katrina.. that was some seriously awesome customer service. Oh and when are we going to be out of Iraq exactly? What topic are you reading? Can you stick to the subject, please?
said by Arragnod :
If you think that "the line that runs into your house" is as simple to connect to the internet as connecting two roads with some asphalt, you got another thing coming. There's a reason you see Comcast & Verizon trucks everywhere.... One might reason that you wouldn't see trucks everywhere if the system worked right. ((unfair giggle)) But I also see road re-construction, water and sewer work, sidewalk repairs all ongoing. So your point is, what? That a government can't be a common carrier? They can, and do -- very well.
said by Arragnod :
So I guess according to you, "the government" could replace all ISPs, all BGP ASNs, and all edge technologies rolled up into one... while your at it go ahead and roll me one too... Nobody wants to be in the last mile carriage business because it is a profitless money drain that everyone needs. That's almost the tell-tale sign of a decent project that's in the public interest.
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Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Hillsboro, Oregon
HTTP is the new Bandwidth Hog...
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