Thankfully, his term ends in just over a month. That, however, will not stop President Bush from voicing his displeasure with the free broadband Internet plan currently under consideration at the FCC. Why? I think the linked Chattahbox article has it right: It’s along the lines of the executive’s free-market principles. Which at this point is a bunch of baloney. Free market advocates don’t hand out $700 billion to failing industries.
The quote, from a letter written by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez: “This mandate would likely lead to congested and inefficiently used broadband.” Yet there is no elaboration. It’s like saying we shouldn’t build highways because it will lead to congested roadways. In other words, it’s a terrible argument without a hint of rational thought — or at least no rational thought on display.
At certain points in his letter, Secretary Gutierrez betrays his ignorance of the alternatives to free wireless broadband. He says “… a government-mandated free nationwide network is not the most effective or efficient way to assist underserved areas,” but exactly the opposite is true. There’s a reason that no private company has opened up service to rural residents in some areas of the country: the potential revenue from those customers doesn’t offset the cost of the infrastructure they’d need to build.
I think that hits it pretty much on the head. The FCC will discuss this on December 18.
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