[ NNSquad ] Re: Obama Broadband? / ITIF: "Competition to take on telecom and cable is 'misguided' idea"

[Vint Cerf <vint@google.com>]

I tend to agree with Atkinson - we have not seen much incentive for  
additional competition and in rural regions, the customer base may  
not support much competition. This does NOT mean, however, that the  
incumbents can be the only players. It only means that any particular  
area probably does not support more than one supplier or two  
competitors.

Vint



Vint Cerf
Google
1818 Library Street, Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190
202-370-5637
vint@google.com




On Jan 10, 2009, at 11:22 AM, Lauren Weinstein wrote:

> Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:45:09 -0500
> From: David Farber <dave@farber.net>
> Subject: [IP] Obama's Broadband Plan ---
> Reply-To: dave@farber.net
> To: ip <ip@v2.listbox.com>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: "Bruce Kushnick" <bruce@newnetworks.com>
> Date: January 9, 2009 2:29:36 AM EST
> To: <oia@lists.bway.net>
> Subject: [OIA] Obama's Broadband Plan ---
>
> Placing bets on just how little change will occur, or more to the  
> point
> about how much of our change ends up in the pockets of AT&T and  
> Verizon…
>
> http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/09_03/ 
> b4116027365196.htm
>
> Obama's Broadband Plan
>
> Tax breaks for companies that increase Internet speed or create new
> networks are likely to go to existing large players
>
> By Arik Hesseldahl
>
> The Obama Administration has pledged support for universal  
> broadband, or
> making speedy Internet service available to all Americans. But the  
> ideas
> under consideration by the President-elect's transition team are  
> likely to
> fall short of the radical changes some activists have sought.
>
> At the core of the $20 billion to $30 billion effort under  
> discussion by
> Obama's advisers are tax breaks for companies that extend the  
> availability
> of broadband or, in regions where it already exists, boost the  
> speed of
> service, several people involved in the discussions tell BusinessWeek.
> Companies that build broadband networks in areas with no service could
> receive as much as 60% of their investment back in tax credits.  
> Companies
> that increase the speed of existing networks could get tax credits  
> of as
> much as 40%. The tax incentives also could be structured to promote  
> high
> broadband speeds, according to Jeffrey Campbell, director of  
> technology and
> communications policy for network equipment maker Cisco Systems  
> (CSCO). For
> example, some analysts say the government could give 20% tax  
> credits for
> 20-megabit-per-second service and 40% credits for 100-megabit service.
>
> As currently conceived, the incentives would be available to any  
> company.
> However, those most likely to benefit would be existing broadband  
> providers
> such as AT&T (T), Verizon Communications (VZ), and Comcast (CMCSA),  
> because
> they have the capital to make investments, and it costs less to extend
> their networks than it does to build new ones. The new Administration
> appears unlikely to push forcefully for more competition in  
> broadband, an
> idea that activist groups such as Free Press and Public Knowledge  
> say is
> essential if the U.S. wants to catch up to broadband leaders such  
> as Korea.
> "Broadband is a natural duopoly," counters Robert D. Atkinson,  
> president of
> the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a nonpartisan  
> think
> tank. Proposals to create a third competitor to take on the telecom  
> and
> cable companies in most markets, he says, are "misguided."
>
> ...
>
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> ----- End forwarded message -----