calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| reply to Octopussy2
Re: "BIG" telecoms
It is indeed a much bigger picture. This is one of those points where two public policies of wide acceptance collide. Those policies are:
1. States are our basic level of government. The federal government gets its power from the Constitution, which was adopted by the states. Within a state, the state government controls the allocation of government power between and among all "lesser" governmental units (cities, counties, townships, special purpose districts, boards, commissions, etc.)
2. Telecom competition is wide open to all comers, based on federal policies.
Normally, we wouldn't think twice about one state saying that its cities could not, or could (or even were required to) enter some line of business. (Garbage collection comes to mind--some places it's a municipal task, some places there is a regulated monopoly, and some places it's competitive.)
Because broadband access (and it's particular variant, Wi-Fi) is both new and unevenly available, there are a number of uncommon forces coming to bear on this particular question.
For me, the question is decided based on the duplicity and arbitrariness demonstrated by the private providers--but others may well base their thoughts on other factors.
A stimulating debate, to be sure--and one we should all be very glad is seeing the light of day. Of course, those cockroaches who prefer to work in the dark probably don't appreciate the publicity, however.:D
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! |
