There is hope for Wireless Cities. There is always hope. (revised for clarity)

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Charles Brown [cbrown () flyingcircuit com]
Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 3:30 PM
To: David Farber; Dewayne Hendricks
Cc: Brown Charles
Subject: There is hope for Wireless Cities. There is always hope. (revised for clarity)

Dave/Dewayne,

For Dave or Dewayne, or neither.  Up to you.  It's radical to say in a public forum, but here it is.

The argument thus far is like listening to Plato (ideal forms) and John Dewey, Richard Rorty, et al, (American 
pragmatists) having a discussion.

IMO, Frankston has identified the crucial, vital principle in this debate.  The telco model is a sophists' trap which 
easily ensnares the sincere pragmatist.  We tend to gravitate toward it because it's all we can know through 
experience, to date.  We tend to think of it as an "existence-proof", but in fact, that is all it is and a poor one in 
terms of what is possible in the realm of "becoming."  This threat to the liberty of the Internet is what people are 
feeling, and the vitality and essence of Frankston's position is well made as a contra-telco future.   To argue that 
competition can be effected by working within or around the telco business model, or using that model on the telcos as 
a competitive threat, as Ken does, seems to me be a non sequitur.  That is going nowhere, as my experience also 
verifies.

So who decides what "becomes" of the Internet?   Isn't Frankston talking about a new Internet?  I think so.  This is 
the disconnection in this debate;  a misunderstanding of the ideal, reality and action.

My answer to this conundrum is "stealth radio", which will enable "all that is available bandwidth access" for 
_everyone_ at the network edge on a "shared basis" across the entire radio spectrum.   As you may surmise, I don't 
waste time thinking about how to finesse regulatory corruption.  The Beltway is a waste of time, money and effort 
unless you can buy Congress in the process.  This is part of the sophistry that we experience as "part of the process" 
and in my view, a fool's errand.  This model also addresses myriad issues in the network neutrality debate as well as 
ownership and use of the public commons.

Ken, before you start asking "pragmatic questions" about how the broth is to be prepared and cooked, I will just 
respond in advance that there is a group of people with the requisite expertise and Will, who are able to build a 
stealth radio, manufacture it and distribute it, who have thought about the problems.  But we can't possible have 
thought of everything, can we?  The rest can be figured out as we go along since the effort is nontrivial and will take 
time.  Perhaps the telco model looks attractive because of its certainty.  But the only thing that is certain is that 
following that model is a recipe for failure.

Regarding the backbone issues, again I think Frankston's arguments lead to thinking of potential solutions.  The 
duopoly squeeze play (edge to backbone) is relentless.  One must address both the edge and the backbone to be 
successful.   I see the backbone issues as less of a problem than access, but it is definitely a problem.  In that 
regard, another group of "Willing individuals" could contribute by building an IPv6 backbone.  Stealth radio + IPv6 
backbone = New Internet.

It is the moving toward the "becoming" and realization of Frankston's ideal that will effect substantive change of 
control of the Internet (the default option here is a new Internet, as I understand him), in any model, especially the 
telco model.  Today, it is easy for the duopoly to hit the "distribution system" at Will to exercise control, and there 
are myriad forms of this ability for control:  political, technical, social, etc.   Above all one must avoid the DC 
Beltway and a corrupt process that defends hegemony of the Internet.  Instead, use technology and the creativity of 
people at the network edge;  provide a means, they will do the rest.

Charles Brown
"Don't Tread on Me"



 *
 *   From: David Farber <dave () farber net<mailto:dave () farber net>>
 *   To: "ip () v2 listbox com<mailto:ip () v2 listbox com>" <ip () v2 listbox com<mailto:ip () v2 listbox com>>
 *   Subject: There is hope for Wireless Cities. There is always hope.
 *   Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:27:08 -0700

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