MemeStreams | MemeStreams Discussion

Create an Account

This page contains all of the posts and discussion on MemeStreams referencing the following web page: NYC: Leverage Fiber, Offer Free Wi-Fi. You can find discussions on MemeStreams as you surf the web, even if you aren't a MemeStreams member, using the Threads Bookmarklet.

NYC: Leverage Fiber, Offer Free Wi-Fi
by flynn23 at 6:16 pm EDT, May 24, 2003

] A new study from the New York City Council is
] recommending that the Big Apple throw open the
] competitive bidding process for its annual $130 million
] phone and Internet bill in order to leverage one of the
] most expansive -- and underused -- fiber optic networks
] in the country.
]
] In so doing, New York City could not only cut its annual
] telecom bill, but would also be in a position to deploy
] wireless networking links as the "last mile" connecting
] metropolitan area networks, or MANs (define). In
] addition, it suggested using the fiber to deploy free
] Internet access with a Wi-Fi (define) Network in
] Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

Well, the revolution takes another giant leap. There is no stopping it now. Telecom is commoditizing at a rapid rate. And the reliance upon this infrastructure is continuing to accelerate and infiltrate every aspect of our lives. We might just yet see an inflection point where the dominance of a few key monolithic corporations in controlling the world's communications infrastructure starts to shift towards an infrastructure that exists purely to foster the applications and systems that live on it.

I can't see far enough down the road to say that the infrastructure will become free, but the price point will asymptotically drop to zero within maybe a decade. Simply because citizens are tired of dealing with the monopolies and their screwy tactics that prevent the ultimate uses of this infrastructure. At what point do shareholders of these companies catch on and throw out the bums running them now and replace them with someone who has a lick of vision? The gold is in the services that ride on top, not on the line itself. The quicker the 'people' own the infrastructure, and it is open and available for all, the quicker we will usher in a completely new world that we have not even imagined yet.

See http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/28553 for even more good news.

RE: NYC: Leverage Fiber, Offer Free Wi-Fi by Jeremy at 7:00 pm EDT, May 24, 2003
For more informaiton on this topic, Google the two terms "Asset-based telecom" and the "paradox of commoditization". You can also search my MemeStreams weblog for these terms.
Link - Reply

RE: NYC: Leverage Fiber, Offer Free Wi-Fi
by flynn23 at 1:50 am EDT, May 25, 2003

Jeremy wrote:
] For more informaiton on this topic, Google the two terms
] "Asset-based telecom" and the "paradox of commoditization".
] You can also search my MemeStreams weblog for these terms.

I read your meme on the Cook report article when you posted it. Besides the crappy typos and aloof language, I agree 100%. I've been saying the same thing since 1997, except then, even I thought I was a crackpot for saying it. It wasn't until 2000 when the market collapsed and telecom lead the charge that I realized that I was right.

It's not just telecom either. It's anything that is impacted by digital media and communications, which is to say everything. It's all being marginalized. There's no way that any of these current business models are going to survive. Certainly not the scale that they enjoy today. And the wretching and clawing that these industries will attempt could potentially throw the US economy into a vicious cycle, and drag pretty much everyone else with it.

My personal stance on Intellectual Property, Copyright, and the Patent process is that it should be completely eliminated. Our idea that you should somehow become individually wealthy because you created something is ridiculous. This isn't 1895.

Under a system that had no barriers to communication, true innovation would explode and the benefits to mankind would completely dwarf whatever social or economic impact the shift would have. Think about it: every human could contribute their effort to innovation, and every human would benefit, allowing more contribution to innovation. It's a gracious cycle unlike one ever imagined.

Now granted, that might be idealistic to the point of being impossible. So I'm willing to settle on a compromise on that continuum. But the point I'm trying to make is that we should be moving towards *elimination* of all barriers, not expansion of barriers. More barriers seem to be the current climate in the US. Witness my work with the TN Digital Freedom Network (tndf.net) for just a little taste of how this is hurting instead of helping.