Empowering the Internet one American at a Time

From this lawyer's perspective, regulation mostly puts the legal power in the hands of carriers and regulators. The Internet puts technology in the hands of everyday people. There's a mismatch. I've offered here and in other places simple ways to fix that near term, but as you may see from discussions in policy, legal, technical, and economic circles, we get into all sorts of interesting chats about history and this and that, but few actually take on the political realities and industry issues head-on. Connectivity sucks in every state because we subsidize to the tune of billions of dollars per year ancient technologies, force new ones into those shoehorns, and drive costs through the roof. Industry, particularly competitive industry is hemmed in on one side by what by any monetary measure is monopoly and on the other by regulators. Since industry is terrified of getting under the skin of the regulators (with good reason in many respects - they can be vindictive at times; happy to take anyone through any dozen briefs, recommended decisions and commission decisions), there's a lot of dancing around the issue, but few, IMHO, really run it to ground.

Very simply: federalize regulation BUT put the rights in the hands of individuals rather than the always hyper-political state PUCs, which, as you note and as has been discussed on this list and other lists for years, tend to be self-serving in how they cut up their data. Unless and until we flatten regulation, it will continue to flatten us. The little guys cannot afford the legal and political horsepower it takes to compete. Trust me; I've run some of the biggest ones around (at least from the competitive side) and I still deal with this on a daily basis.

This does not mean that there is not a role for state regulation. It means that state regulation must be realigned. They have to quit regulating industry and start empowering consumers. But, for now, we have to take away Bell's tools of control and dominance, which are primarily exercised at the state level.

As you examine this, keep your eye on the ball, follow the money. This is a money game; money runs the system and money runs DC, just as surely as it runs any state. That's just the facts; it is not personal to any regulator or individual, myself included, who spends a lot of time (and gets paid quite a bit of money) to make legal, regulatory, and political calculations relative to the business plans I find innovating, empowering and interesting. It simply observes how the system works. The system is not going to change soon, which is fine. And we are wise to focus on the money. We'd be ill advised to waste it.

The secret to success is that when individuals change themselves in relation to the system, the system must change. Look, I'm a deep inside the industry attorney and litigator. I get paid a lot of money to work this system. Yet I'm giving away the kind of advice any industry lawyer sells to its clients for quite a bit of money. I'm teaching you and anyone who cares to read this how to re-define the terms of engagement. Accordingly, I'm not giving transparency; I'm teaching it.

Use it: run the money and market equations first, then the political equations, and then the legal equations. Do not get lost in thinking it's the other way around b/c 99% of what's discussed is the legal, technical or economic equations. They are code for talking about the other two. That's how DC handles these issues (and I've spent decades inside DC as well, so I speak from experience) in ways that aren't uncomfortable for them (which again, is not to judge it as bad b/c it is not bad; it is just how humans handle emotionally difficult issues particularly when, as here, they feel helpless to change this - often regulators - even the many state regulators I know well and sincerely and deeply respect to a person - feel trapped & unable to do anything about it. Well, time to fix that.).

You may consider starting here: The FCC yesterday invited comment on how we "transition" from aCircuit Switched to IP-enabled world, which is ironic b/c the world is already there. The real question is how *they* transition. That's a good question and I think folks deploying WiFi, WiMax, FTTx, and other innovating and empowering network technologies an help. This is a political problem; you are the people.

There's nothing to lose but the *illusion* that the system as presently construed serves everyday Americans. It is time to empower Main St. b/c like bank and securities regulation, power and transparency were taken away from real people. We lost our way. The good news is that in empowering individual Americans we re-invigorate industry by shifting its focus to lowering cost and deploying the very best technology has to offer from harvesting profits based upon ancient and now irrelevant technological assumptions and regulations.

And tipping my cards, my clients are thrilled with a world where individuals are empowered. They are the open-source types looking way over the horizon at some very exciting technologies & would celebrate your involvement.

There is nothing but opportunity here.

Keep up the good work America.

Kind regards,

Erik