Net Neutrality and the End of the Republic

View from Chaos Manor, Wednesday, February 04, 2015

Thursday, February 4, 2015

Spent another day with Niven and Barnes, and we made great progress on the next book in the Avalon/Beowulf’s children series. We could not go out to lunch because we had to wait for Terminex to send out a man to remove the dead rat under the stairs: something I used to do but can’t do now, alas. Steve Barnes offered to do it, but we had already scheduled the man. I suppose we could have gone to lunch without Roberta, but that hardly seemed fair.

So we ordered pizza and salad and kept on working, resulting in many notes, several ideas for new aliens – Legacy of Heorot and the sequel Beowulf’s Children are about colonizing an extraterrestrial planet without faster than light drives, thus with limited resources and no possibility of help – and much more, but in the process I exhausted myself and didn’t get this done by Wednesday. So it goes.

Of course that phrase was used by Vonnegut and we dealt with it in Inferno, possibly a bit unfairly. Anyone who can write Harrison Bergeron was a prophetic and talented. https://archive.org/stream/HarrisonBergeron/Harrison%20Bergeron_djvu.txt or Google for better formatted text; I don’t know where you can buy it.

Anyway, I’ll try to catch up today. Start with Internet Equality, a scheme to make a few regulators very powerful and a few people rich while restricting competition.

More on Stephen Hillard, the Investor Behind Dish Network’s Spectrum Win (journal)

By
Shalini Ramachandran

•

Dish Network Corp.DISH -0.92% scored a $3.3 billion discount on spectrum at a government airwaves auction with the help of a little-known Texas investor: Stephen Hillard. The former jailhouse teacher and fantasy author played a key role in assembling the team that backed Dish’s bid, drawing on his extensive connections with Alaskan Native American groups.

Here’s more on the man who made wireless-auction magic happen:

Middle Class to Millionaire: Mr. Hillard was born in Dallas and grew up in a middle-class family in Grand Junction, Colo. He spent his summers herding sheep and trimming orchards with his grandparents in Hotchkiss. Soon after earning a law degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1976, Mr. Hillard made a spur-of-the-moment decision to move to Alaska, where he began advising Native corporations on business dealings. Eventually, he became a top executive at one of them, Cook Inlet Region Inc. And now, he runs a private-equity firm, Council Tree.

From The Wall Street Journal:

By

Kelly Ayotte And

Ajit Pai

Feb. 4, 2015 7:14 p.m. ET

Should the federal government hand out more than $3 billion from American taxpayers to a Fortune 500 company as part of a program to help small and disadvantaged businesses compete with large corporations? Of course not, but it’s about to happen.

First, some background. The Federal Communications Commission is in charge of auctioning a public asset—the nation’s wireless spectrum—for private-sector use. Last week the FCC finished auctioning spectrum for nearly $45 billion. This spectrum will now be used to deliver high-speed Internet access on mobile devices.

While most bidders put their own money on the line, some of the largest companies in the auction were using billions of taxpayer dollars. How is that possible?

The answer is the FCC’s “designated entity” program. In 1993 Congress directed the FCC to give small businesses an opportunity to compete in spectrum auctions against large corporations by providing the small companies with taxpayer-funded bidding credits. The program was supposed to work like this: A small business that lacked pockets deep enough to outbid large, established corporations would get a taxpayer-funded boost to its bid. So if a small business bid, say, $100 for a license, it would pay $75 and a federal subsidy would cover the remaining $25. It was a well-intentioned program to help the Davids compete with Goliaths.

To nobody’s surprise, the biggest competitors have figured out a way to game the system. Industry giants are claiming those taxpayer-funded discounts for themselves and using them to outbid smaller, would-be competitors.

In the latest auction, $13.3 billion worth of spectrum may soon be awarded to two companies in which Dish Network —a company with almost $14 billion in annual revenue—has an 85% interest. But those Dish-owned entities aren’t planning on paying full freight. They are counting on American taxpayers to kick in over $3 billion for their auction spending, each having sought “designated entity” status, and hence discounts, from the FCC. Dish isn’t the only beneficiary of this loophole.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/kelly-ayotte-and-ajit-pai-ending-welfare-for-telecom-giants-1423095287

Also from the Wall Street Journal:

Musicians and Kardashians may claim they can break the Internet by posting alluring photographs, but they have nothing on Tom Wheeler.

The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission unveiled on Wednesday a plan to demolish a policy that for two decades has allowed the Internet to become the jewel of world-wide communication and commerce. His new “Open Internet” plan represents a monumental shift from open markets in favor of government control. It is a grave threat to American innovation.

***

In a piece for Wired magazine, Mr. Wheeler announced that this week he will circulate to his fellow commissioners a plan to enact what President Obama demanded in November: century-old telephone regulation for today’s broadband communications companies.

“This proposal is rooted in long-standing regulatory principles,” wrote Mr. Wheeler, and he’s right. The game plan is to apply to competitive digital networks rules originally written for monopoly railroads in the 1800’s. But don’t worry, this “common carrier” regulatory structure was modernized for telephones as recently as the summer of 1934 when Franklin Roosevelt signed the Communications Act.

The Wheeler cover story is that such antiquated rules are necessary to provide “net neutrality,” the concept that all Internet traffic should be treated equally and not blocked from reaching consumers—in other words, to allow the Internet to function pretty much as it does now.

But even if net neutrality were threatened, the Federal Trade Commission already has authority to punish companies that discriminate against consumers, and Congressional Republicans have already expressed their willingness to enact a law preventing the specific abuses Mr. Wheeler claims he wants to prevent. In any case, even the old telephone regs don’t treat all customers equally—they allow heavy-volume customers to get a better deal than mom and pop.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/washington-conquers-the-internet-1423095660

It ain’t broke but it might break, so let us have the government fix it now, at great cost, creating much corruption and crony capitalism.

Net neutrality means that I must pay for the net access, which I use a couple of hours a day, exactly as much as the kid down the street who downloads porn and bit torrents 24 hours a day; which is to say I must subsidize his activities. And no one can offer me a lower price for what I use than they offer him for his massive use. That is known as fairness.

Note that the “auction” was won with government money. And that’s now, when in theory we don’t regulate these things. Another column in the Journal sums up nicely the policy which drives the move to “Net Neutrality” and other “infrastructure” on the Federal level.

An Empire of Taxation

The government role in Obama’s budget looks like something last seen in 17th century Europe.

By

Daniel Henninger

Feb. 4, 2015 7:16 p.m. ET

The president’s annual budget reminds the Beltway tribes of what they do—tax the country, distribute revenues to their allies, and euphemize it as a budget. With his 2015 budget, Barack Obama at last makes clear his presidency’s reason for being: to establish an empire of taxation.

Commenting on Mr. Obama’s nearly $4 trillion budget, Jared Bernstein, a former policy adviser to Vice President Joe Biden , told the New York Times : “It’s a visionary document and basically says, ‘You’re with me or you’re not,’ and we can have big philosophical arguments about the role of government.”

He is right. For the Obama presidency that is what it has always been about: You’re with me or you’re not. The government role reflected in this budget looks less like a 21st century American institution than a system last seen in 17th century Europe, in which a leader defines national wealth by handing out dispensations, emoluments and punishments.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/dan-henninger-an-empire-of-taxation-1423095409?tesla=y

Alas, this isn’t just the goal of Obama and his friends. It is the goal of Liberalism. Most Liberals don’t understand that this where their leaders are taking them. They think they are “liberating” people but of course the result is to create power centers. Look at where it leads: to Czars who may – may – be honest, but those with access to the Czars include many who are not. And of course we create new bureaucracies subject to the Iron Law.

Despair is a sin, but this internet neutrality stuff sure tempts me to despair.

In a piece for Wired magazine, Mr. Wheeler announced that this week he will circulate to his fellow commissioners a plan to enact what President Obama demanded in November: century-old telephone regulation for today’s broadband communications companies.

“This proposal is rooted in long-standing regulatory principles,” wrote Mr. Wheeler, and he’s right. The game plan is to apply to competitive digital networks rules originally written for monopoly railroads in the 1800s. But don’t worry, this “common carrier” regulatory structure was modernized for telephones as recently as the summer of 1934 when Franklin Roosevelt signed the Communications Act.

The Wheeler cover story is that such antiquated rules are necessary to provide “net neutrality,” the concept that all Internet traffic should be treated equally and not blocked from reaching consumers—in other words, to allow the Internet to function pretty much as it does now.

But even if net neutrality were threatened, the Federal Trade Commission already has authority to punish companies that discriminate against consumers, and Congressional Republicans have already expressed their willingness to enact a law preventing the specific abuses Mr. Wheeler claims he wants to prevent. In any case, even the old telephone regs don’t treat all customers equally—they allow heavy-volume customers to get a better deal than mom and pop. Tom Wheeler’s announcement that the FCC will regulate the Internet like a public utility. Plus, Mrs. Clinton’s 2008 vaccine-skeptic remarks and why Republicans are joining the fray, ISIS’s execution of the Jordanian pilot and more IRS drama.

Mr. Wheeler is seeking to overturn Bill Clinton ’s policy of allowing the Internet to grow as a lightly regulated “information service” because Mr. Wheeler does not want light regulation. And while the successful bipartisan policy of allowing Internet creativity to flourish was widely supported as recently as 2010, when 74 House Democrats opposed treating the Web like a telephone system, Mr. Wheeler now sees a policy opening. With 23 months left in the Obama Administration, the former lobbyist aims to make the FCC the ruler of the Internet.

In an acrobatic feat of Orwellian logic, Mr. Wheeler even implies that telephone-style regulation must come to the Net to prevent problems that existed in the old telephone network, such as the difficulty faced by entrepreneurs trying to deploy new communications devices. But unlike in the days of the old Ma Bell telephone monopoly, new devices and services are multiplying today.

But it will give great power to a few people. Which is the purpose of it.

Yes, that 3D-printed mansion is safe to live in (WP)

By Tuan C. Nguyen February 5 at 7:54 AM

Back in April, a team of Chinese construction workers used a 3D printer to construct houses. By day’s end, there were 10 standing. They were compact and fairly bare bones — nothing much to look at besides the “wow!” factor of there being as many as — count them — 10. But this time around, those same builders have taken the wraps off an achievement that’s roundly more impressive.

In Suzhou Industrial Park, adjacent to Shanghai, stands a five-story structure that the WinSun Decoration Design Engineering firm claims is “the world’s tallest 3D-printed building.” Next to it is the equally massive 3D-printed mansion, which measures 11,840 square-foot. Like the previous buildings, the walls are comprised of a mix of concrete and recycled waste materials, such as glass and steel, and formed layer by printed layer. The company stated that the total cost for the mansion was roughly $161,000.

Competition at work:

Verizon Wireless Joins the Mobile Discount Parade nyt

By Brian X. Chen

February 4, 2015 1:24 pm February 4, 2015 1:24 pm

Verizon Wireless executives say they are confident that network quality, not price tags, will attract customers. But that hasn’t stopped the company from cutting prices.

Verizon said on Wednesday that it was trimming the costs of most of its mobile shared data plans by $10.

For example, a plan that includes one gigabyte of data now starts at $30, down from $40; a plan that includes six gigabytes now starts at $70, down from $80. (Verizon’s shared data plans separate the costs of data from the costs for each phone line, so these rates refer only to the data portion of a phone bill.)

Verizon, however, is still resisting calling these price cuts. Instead, the company says customers can pay the same amount as they used to, but now they will get more mobile data for what they pay.

The move was surprising given that just a few days ago, Verizon said on its financial earnings call that it would not compete on price. Jan Dawson, an independent telecom analyst, said it was a sign that Verizon was finally responding to price cuts happening across the wireless industry. Chief among the many deals is Sprint’s offer to cut bills in half for any Verizon or AT&T customers who switched to Sprint.

Without net neutrality regulations

F.C.C. Chief Wants to Override State Laws Curbing Community Net Services nyt

By Steve Lohr

February 2, 2015 5:40 pm February 2, 2015 5:40 pm

The future of protecting an open Internet has been the subject of fierce debate, and potential changes to the rules by the Federal Communications Commission could impact your online experience.

Video by Natalia V. Osipova and Carrie Halperin on Publish Date May 15, 2014.

Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, will propose an order to pre-empt state laws that limit the build-out of municipal broadband Internet services, senior F.C.C. officials said on Monday.

The proposal focuses on laws in two states, North Carolina and Tennessee, but it would create a policy framework for other states. About 21 states, by the F.C.C.’s count, have laws that restrict the activities of community broadband services. The initiative by Mr. Wheeler, if endorsed by the full commission, would be the first time the F.C.C. has tried to override such state laws.

Mr. Wheeler is expected to circulate his plan to the other commissioners on Thursday, and the full commission is scheduled to vote on Feb. 26.

Interest Costs Poised to Surpass Defense and Nondefense Discretionary Spending

The party is over:

<.>

Currently, the government’s interest costs are around $200 billion a year, a sum that’s low due to the era of low interest rates.

Forecasters at the White House and Congressional Budget Office believe interest rates will gradually rise, and when that happens, the interest costs of the U.S. government are set to soar, from just over

$200 billion to nearly $800 billion a year by decade’s end.

<…>

By 2021, the government will be spending more on interest than on all national defense. according to White House forecasts. And one year later, interest costs will exceed nondefense discretionary spending–essentially every other domestic and international government program funded annually through congressional appropriations.

</>

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/02/03/the-legacy-of-debt-interest-costs-poised-to-surpass-defense-and-nondefense-discretionary-spending/?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsForth

I have nothing constructive to say at this time.

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

Most Respectfully,

Joshua Jordan, KSC

Percussa Resurgo

There isn’t much encouraging to say. And we are to add new regulatory bureaucrat who must be paid for all of their lives.

As we suspected’’

Google, Microsoft and Amazon pay to get around ad blocking tool ft

Robert Cookson, Digital Media Correspondent

Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Taboola have quietly paid the German start-up behind Adblock Plus, the world’s most popular software for blocking online advertising, to stop blocking ads on their sites.

The deals, which are confidential but whose existence has been confirmed by the Financial Times, demonstrate that some of the biggest participants in the $120bn online advertising market see the rise of ad-blocking as a material threat to their revenues.

Adblock Plus has become one of the most popular free extensions on Chrome and Firefox browsers in recent years as internet users have attempted to eliminate the interruption of advertising. Eyeo, the German company that produces the software, says it has been downloaded more than 300m times worldwide and has more than 50m monthly active users.

However many publishers that fund their operations through advertising worry that ad-blocking will undermine their business model. German media groups including RTL and ProSiebenSat.1 are seeking damages from Eyeo, while French publishers are reportedly considering whether to follow suit.

Google and Amazon declined to comment.

Dear Jerry

I don’t understand all this fuss about the Moties invading Known Space:

Look at the size of the things !

http://youtu.be/zpJAnFE33w0

— Russell Seitz