Lynne Kiesling According to Larry Lessig in this article from March’s Wired issue, it’s state officials. In writing about municipal WiFi, Lessig argues that [t]he telcos’ argument isn’t much more subtle than that of the simpleton who began this column: Businesses shouldn’t have to compete against their governments. What the market can do, the government …
Who’s Stifling Competition To Keep Prices High In Telecom? Read More »
Lynne Kiesling I don’t read or link to Technology Liberation Front frequently enough. I typically find that the authors there make arguments similar to ones I would make, and do so with more eloquence and expertise. Take, for example, this recent post from Adam Thierer on telecom mergers, which provides some useful analysis of why …
Lynne Kiesling Thanks to Stuart Benjamin at Volokh Conspiracy for his post on spectrum poicy, including a reference to this National Journal article on spectrum. The evidence keeps mounting that a spectrum policy that 1. is based on licensing and not ownership, 2. protects the fractured incumbency, and 3. is so clearly a political and …
How Much More Obvious Does Rethinking Spectrum Policy Have To Be? Read More »
Lynne Kiesling The Wall Street Journal is full of goodies today. Although I am tempted to write about the front-page article on “Two-Buck Chuck” entrepreneur Fred Franzia, I will confine my enthusiasm to discussing lead editorial entitled “Telecom Shootout” (subscription required). This editorial coincides with a lot of my thinking on the current merger activity …
Lynne Kiesling When I saw the front-page article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday about merger talks between SBC and AT&T, my first thought was, well, we are far, far away from 1984! Who’d a thunk 20 years ago that this would happen? SBC Communications Inc. is in talks to acquire AT &T Corp., a …
Lynne Kiesling Following up on Mike’s post, the Wall Street Journal opined about Powell’s legacy: In fact, Mr. Powell has spent the past four years focused on much more substantive matters regarding the government’s role in overseeing a telecommunications sector that has never been more dynamic. This is Mr. Powell’s proper legacy, and if he …
Michael Giberson Just yesterday The Economist said, “By all rights, Michael Powell ought to be thoroughly fed up. …Yet fresh from the ritzy Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Mr Powell seems as full of zest for public office as ever.” Maybe not. Overnight, reports have begun appearing in online media saying that Powell would …
Lynne Kiesling On Tuesday, which Ray Gifford has named VOIP State Freedom Day, the FCC issued a ruling (press release) that precludes state public utility commissions from regulating VOIP: The Federal Communications Commission declared today that a type of Internet telephony service offered by Vonage Holdings Corp. called DigitalVoice is not subject to traditional state …
I love this Tech Central Station article by Steven Den Beste. He describes in great detail the evolution of competing standards for cellular phones in the US, versus the “harmonization” and settling on GSM as THE standard in the EU. Punch line: North American cellular networks and phones are more technically sound, and are updating …
Competition As A Discovery Process Holds For Cell Phones, Too Read More »
This nifty Tech Central Station article by Duane Freese talks about the value to consumers of bundled telecom/technology services. I have a similar vision for companies being free to offer a portfolio of contract options to consumers, even extending to bundling with other infrastructure industries if there’s a market for it and they can make …
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