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Senate Votes to Uphold Network Neutrality Rules
Latest Chapter in Increasingly Silly Debate Ends
The Senate today voted down efforts to derail the FCC's new network neutrality rules, ending for now a debate that long ago descended from absurd bickering into something more closely resembling farce. The rules were crafted largely by industry giants Google and Verizon simply to put the contentious issue to rest, fail to cover wireless, and contain enough loopholes as to make them meaningless. Still, Republicans had been engaging in some political posturing insisting the rules were evidence of a government "takeover of the Internet," and had pushed for a joint resolution of disapproval to overturn the rules. The rules now officially go into effect November 20, though they still face a legal challenge from Verizon Communications -- who simply wants to ensure the FCC has no future authority to enforce rule changes or additions.
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sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

sonicmerlin

Member

Google

Google should buy Clearwire. Their market cap is at an absurdly low 1.7 billion. Google could buy up the company, its entire network, and the massive swath of spectrum it owns for one quarter's worth of profit. That would be an infinitely better investment than the $10+ billion it's dumped into Android.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: Google

said by sonicmerlin:

That would be an infinitely better investment than the $10+ billion it's dumped into Android.

Except for the additional billions of dollars Google would need to invest to make Clearwire worthwhile. There's a reason Clearwire is dangling in its fiscal state. Besides, I honestly don't believe Google wants to be an ISP.
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA

elray

Member

Re: Google

said by openbox9:

said by sonicmerlin:

That would be an infinitely better investment than the $10+ billion it's dumped into Android.

Except for the additional billions of dollars Google would need to invest to make Clearwire worthwhile. There's a reason Clearwire is dangling in its fiscal state. Besides, I honestly don't believe Google wants to be an ISP.

Google doesn't want to do customer service, or anything that would bring them under regulatory authority. They certainly don't want to be an ISP.

There is a huge difference between underwriting a couple of fiber optic overbuilder experiments, where "neutrality" is a moot point given the massive bandwdith availability, versus trying to deploy "neutral" wireless broadband for the entire country. The latter is a thankless task that will never, ever, ever, turn a profit.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: Google

said by elray:

The latter is a thankless task that will never, ever, ever, turn a profit.

I wouldn't necessarily say that. I will say however, that the return likely isn't there for the risk with Clearwire.
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA

elray

Member

Re: Google

said by openbox9:

said by elray:

The latter is a thankless task that will never, ever, ever, turn a profit.

I wouldn't necessarily say that. I will say however, that the return likely isn't there for the risk with Clearwire.

Clearwire's bandwidth is cheap. How would one turn a profit under NN with more expensive spectrum?
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

sonicmerlin to openbox9

Member

to openbox9
said by openbox9:

said by sonicmerlin:

That would be an infinitely better investment than the $10+ billion it's dumped into Android.

Except for the additional billions of dollars Google would need to invest to make Clearwire worthwhile. There's a reason Clearwire is dangling in its fiscal state. Besides, I honestly don't believe Google wants to be an ISP.

said by openbox9:

said by sonicmerlin:

That would be an infinitely better investment than the $10+ billion it's dumped into Android.

Except for the additional billions of dollars Google would need to invest to make Clearwire worthwhile. There's a reason Clearwire is dangling in its fiscal state. Besides, I honestly don't believe Google wants to be an ISP.

said by openbox9:

said by sonicmerlin:

That would be an infinitely better investment than the $10+ billion it's dumped into Android.

Except for the additional billions of dollars Google would need to invest to make Clearwire worthwhile. There's a reason Clearwire is dangling in its fiscal state. Besides, I honestly don't believe Google wants to be an ISP.

said by openbox9:

said by sonicmerlin:

That would be an infinitely better investment than the $10+ billion it's dumped into Android.

Except for the additional billions of dollars Google would need to invest to make Clearwire worthwhile. There's a reason Clearwire is dangling in its fiscal state. Besides, I honestly don't believe Google wants to be an ISP.

Clearwire makes its own money. They've already turned the corner in turns of revenue and profit, and they continue to grow their subscriber base at a torrid pace- something like 20% last quarter. Now all they need is about $1 billion to convert to LTE. Google makes three times that much in one quarter of profit. They could easily make Clear a nationwide ISP. Not to mention the massive value of the huge amount of spectrum Clear holds.

As for customer support, why would Google need to integrate the company? They would leave it running independently, just like Motorola.

Given the lack of competition in the market Clear has a very high probability of succeeding with the proper financial backing.

Matt3
All noise, no signal.
Premium Member
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC

Matt3

Premium Member

Great, but where is the video?

That's great, but where is the video of the discussion?