I keep harping endlessly on the fact that Free Press wants centralized, nationalized media in America, and one logical consequence of their Internet plans is to have single payer Internet. Well, this isn’t a theoretical problem. Finland just implemented it. Quoth Boy Genius Report:
Thanks to a new law that comes into effect today, every single citizen of Finland now has a legal right to a wired broadband connection with a minimum speed of 1Mbps.
Do we see how this might hinder investment and innovation of Internet technology? No? Well, here’s some more evidence of how wrong it is that the FCC is going along the Free Press Communist path. Stratecast projects alarming revenue declines for ISPs should “strict non-discrimination” restrictions on service innovation and maintenance be enforced by the FCC. Eyeballing their chart, it appears to go from about $65 billion to $20 billion in only five years. When the industry has that much less money coming in, we users of the Internet will see that much less investment in the bandwidth and routing expansion and innovation we’ve come to rely upon, and will rely upon even more as we stream video over the Internet at an increasing rate.
Stratecast suggests that very narrow regulations (which I should add would be far, far less than what Title II deem and pass reclassification will inspire) would result in only a small decline in revenue growth, leaving the industry at about $180 billion instead of $220 billion (again, just eyeballing their chart on page 15 of the report). This is why we need the Congress to act, stopping the FCC and putting in careful, narrowly tailored changes to the Telecommunications Act if we want narrow regulation of ISPs at all.
We can do it, too. Free Press is beginning to lose allies. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International has sent a letter to the FCC disavowing its association with Free Press or any of its front groups, asking Free Press to remove the JRDF name from any of Free Press’s websites or other materials. Heh.
Moving on to an organization I haven’t talked about much, the roving eye of BigGovernment.com has focused in on the Sunlight Foundation. Sunlight pretends to be nice and centrist, favoring open government through the power of new technology, but BG.com sees more than that: They’re now spreading the Free Press line attacking ISPs who oppose the radical Free Press Net Neutrality plan, while ignoring the constant consultations Free Press and organizations allied with it themselves get to make.
Oh and lookie at what else BG.com found:
It turns out, the Sunlight Foundation’s “research” is funded by organizations who just happen to have a direct interest in net neutrality regulations.
Look at record:
Google, which strongly favors government “neutrality” regulation, has given Sunlight nearly $100,000 during the past two years. And Google executive Kim Scott sits on Sunlight’s board of directors.
George Soros is also exposed as lurking back there. It’s time anyone on the right started taking a good, hard look at Sunshine before having anything to do with the group going forward.
Aaron Gardner
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
KnightsofMalta
Dan Spencer
Dan McLaughlin
Does Finland give its citizens a legal entitlement to food and housing ?
Joliphant (Diary) Friday, July 2nd at 2:58AM EST (link)Or for that matter do they have a legal right to the personal computer needed to access it ?
Just saying, if you are going to establish legal rights to things you consider basic needs internet access is kind of down the list of basic needs. Its kind of elitist and would seem to pander to middle class slacker youths.
Anyway I stand by my usual position on this topic, monopolies bad, duopolies better but still not good, large scale competition good and usually prevents economic imperialism by nations willing to destroy our industries by robbing their own citizens to do it. The best solution is to get the government to open up more spectrum for unlicensed wireless use and provide a mechanism for allowing service providers neutral access to service providers on lines created through monopoly franchises.
“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
Equality Trumps Greed
swb12 Friday, July 2nd at 5:06AM EST (link)Shouldn’t broadband access for everyone, which has increasingly become a necessity in modern life, be more important than investment profitability for a select few? I welcome the day when subsidized broadband internet access is available to all Americans. There’s so much dark fiber in the United States that capacity wouldn’t be an issue. And upkeep costs would be minimal. A free and open internet, available to all, is what this country needs.
G'bye (nt)
Neil Stevens (Diary) Friday, July 2nd at 5:25AM EST (link)RS contributing editor, technical administrator, and “a hardy variety of crabgrass.”
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“I rejoice that America has resisted.” – William Pitt, the Elder
Free stuff for everybody! Equality of outcome guaranteed!
RedBeard Friday, July 2nd at 7:09AM EST (link)Happiness and joy through government control.
Good grief. I find it hard to believe that there are people (like swb12) who are that deranged, yet are able to roam the streets without a straightjacket and an orderly.
Standard-bearer for grouchy curmudgeonry since, oh, 1975 or so.
The really scary part is that they can vote. nt
Achance (Diary) Friday, July 2nd at 9:35AM EST (link)In Vino Veritas
well I suppose that we should also have equal access
kyle8 (Diary) Friday, July 2nd at 7:29AM EST (link)to education, but some people only abuse it by learning socialism and becoming morons.
“Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty”
Kyle
swb12 - Let me put it simply to you
trutexan Friday, July 2nd at 7:20AM EST (link)If the government provides (pays for) your internet, then they have the say-so of what can go on it…or not. If they own it, they can and will become the web content Nazi’s. You can say goodbye to conservative voice on the internet.
Just as they have taken over TV, newspapers, and most radio, they now want to take over this method of communication as well. I can not believe that someone can be so niave as to think that if the government gives “free” internet to everyone, that they will continue to allow freedom of speech against them on the information super highway. In a world of rainbows and bluebirds it would be a perfect solution. But then reality sneaks in and RedState.com won’t be allowed to renew their domain name.
I was anti-Obama before it was cool.
"...and RedState.com won’t be allowed to renew their domain name."
RedBeard Friday, July 2nd at 9:29AM EST (link)And this is precisely what swb12 wants, knowing that if government gets total control it will be totally leftist in nature.
I don’t think swb12 is naive at all, just devious. Freedom of speech is the last thing he wants.
Standard-bearer for grouchy curmudgeonry since, oh, 1975 or so.
Finland?
erp617 Friday, July 2nd at 8:05AM EST (link)It’s ridiculous to extrapolate what five millions completely socialized Finns do onto to the U.S.
Finland. And no, it's not ridiculous.
acat (Diary) Friday, July 2nd at 10:23AM EST (link)It’s very close to what the founders intended.
Each State was intended to operate somewhat independently, with the Fed taking on some of the roles for the country overall – Laboratories of Democracy someone called the design.
Finland seem to think this can work. Maybe they’re right – maybe internet service should be provided just like water, sewer, electricity – by a government-controlled monopoly.
There’s reason to doubt that this is a Good Idea though. Unlike water and electricity, the internet and its’ immense volumes of data may prove too tempting to politicians seeking to further their own agendas. (For example, alleged white knight Google has been found – several times – tweaking search results for political expediency)
It’s not ridiculous to consider Finland. Their approach reminds me of some of the “free city-wide wifi” initiatives that have popped up over the last decade or so. Finland’s example will be an interesting one to watch.
Mew
——
“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost”. –Tolkein
It's not like politicians can resist using water and electricity
Achance (Diary) Friday, July 2nd at 10:33AM EST (link)for political ends either. See, e.g., the Central Valley of California and all the controversy about hydroelectric dams in the West blocking salmon runs.
In Vino Veritas
True that - and cryptosporidium is still a big issue in Milwaukee, WI...
acat (Diary) Friday, July 2nd at 10:39AM EST (link)but my point remains that – unlike water or electricity- free access information is much more *directly* dangerous to a politician.
Mew
——
“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost”. –Tolkein
Interesting, but
TxTess (Diary) Friday, July 2nd at 10:50AM EST (link)it reminds me of when I was a teenager living in my parents’ home. Their house their rules since they paid the bills, etc. which is pretty normal. They made the rules about phone usage, for instance if I called a boy and got caught I lost phone privileges for a week and I wasn’t allowed on the phone after 9 p.m. either. Over 25 years later I pay my own bills in my own home. I can do what I please (within reason of course). Look at China. Internet access is not a “right” there and they still try to control it. If the government gives you free internet access they control the content filters, etc. I enjoy the internet because of all the information available so I can access it and come to my own conclusions.
I agree with Acat. I think it would be to much of a temptation for politicians to handle. Sometimes the cookie should stay on the top shelf.
Because I walk softly and carry a big Lipstick – Lori_Z at Red State