On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 10:52 PM, George Bonser <gbonser@seven.com> wrote:
I don't. What happens when the "government" then decides what content is and is not allowed to go over their network? If one had a site that provided a view that the government didn't like, would they cut it off?
I appreciate your argument. When asked by Uncle Sam, the major RBOCs were apparently happy to hand over customers' records and tap into their phones in direct violation of the law. *Asked* not ordered by a court or any legally-empowered person or entity. The companies and LEOs then had to fight for RETROACTIVE PROTECTION FROM THEIR WILLFUL VIOLATIONS OF THE LAW, which was granted by our federal legislature. I think we would be far, far better off, from the perspective of liberty, with a thousand small last-mile providers, some of which will hopefully be owned by cities/counties/states and some of which would hopefully be privately-operated. It's a lot harder to coerce (or just ask) a thousand small access providers to block some "objectionable" or "dangerous" content or activity without getting caught than it is to do the same if there are only a handful of access providers. Since there is no "liberty" advantage, in the real world, to a system where AT&T controls the last-mile or states, counties, or private contractors control same, I would choose the one most likely to create a competitive business environment. We already know that homes without cable television and Internet service are less valuable than homes which have access to these services. I hope that communities would develop and maintain the best last-mile networks they can in order to attract businesses and residents with the most money to spend, and the most to contribute to their tax bases, job market, and skilled labor pool. In an ideal world, I could agree with you. But you don't need a tin-foil hat anymore to be absolutely certain that big brother has over-stepped his bounds and will continue to do so even in an environment where private businesses *could* be an obstacle. Guess what, they aren't. -- Jeff S Wheeler <jsw@inconcepts.biz> Sr Network Operator / Innovative Network Concepts