Shovel-ready broadband stimulus

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Bob Frankston" <Bob19-0501 () bobf frankston com>
Date: May 7, 2009 12:08:55 PM EDT
To: <dave () farber net>, "'ip'" <ip () v2 listbox com>
Cc: "'Dewayne Hendricks'" <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Subject: RE: [IP] Shovel-ready broadband stimulus

Why am I not surprised that economists claim that they can solve any  
problem by holding an auction according to rules they define? And  
bureaucrats say they can act as soon as they get measurements (even if  
they are meaningless)? And same-old business just see another revenue  
source. We’ve seen this show before and we’re in reruns.

I’d like to shift the focus to liberating the value in the  
infrastructure rather than leaving it locked into the same-old “value  
chain” we call telecom services.

-----Original Message-----
From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2009 11:15
To: ip
Subject: [IP] Shovel-ready broadband stimulus



Begin forwarded message:

From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: May 6, 2009 2:21:54 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Shovel-ready broadband stimulus

SHOVEL-READY BROADBAND STIMULUS

[Commentary] The $7.2 billion broadband stimulus will not achieve what
it advertises for the US economy. Firms that had been building rural
broadband networks have reportedly halted operations, circling back to
Washington. Ultimately, the $7.2bn will be awarded in "beauty
contests," where bureaucrats examine competing proposals and make
their picks based on their values, mood, and whim. A group of 71
economists expert in telecommunications policy, including two Nobel
Laureates (and this author), have urged a different approach, "reverse
auctions." The government would state its performance criteria and
then take bids, selecting the lowest price offers. The proposal has
only a remote chance of being adopted because it is both transparent
and economical. Having to make goals objective and explicit takes the
discretionary political fun away. And assigning rights by competitive
bidding is like having a fraternity party without any beer at all.

<http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/af900dd0-3699-11de-af40-00144feabdc0.html>
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