Jochen, I don't see it as a race between the citizenry of two or more continents, as much as I see it as a race against some vested interests who happen to be in power who would impede "next generation" (another one of my favorite terms) infrastructure changes. IMO, the Internet is a complex organism which needs to be healthy in all of its parts in order for it to deliver maximum effect, globally.
Having listened to Dyson speak in the past, I can only infer that she was referring to the PTTs and the established power structures (the cartel-like relationships between the PTTs, the ITU and the vendors which make it up), and not the citizens who are made up of individuals such as yourself who "got it" a long time ago.
In the next sentence of her speech she might have just as readily stated that the Bells and the American MSOs still don't get it, and she would have been correct. Again, that would not indicate to me that she was referring to the end users of those systems, only the power structures who deliver services to them. IMO, the terms "get it" and "clue" among the Internet elite is highly overdone these days. They no longer connote what they once did. Instead, they've become in my eyes only attempts at being chic by those who would like to be regarded as the "in crowd" of the 00s.
Getting back on point, would you argue that the PTTs themselves have "gotten it" for a long time, if we must use that idiom? Or, are have the Euro Regs only now seeing the significance of an imperative which states that they must allow their citizenry to become wired at this time after holding out for the longest time?
BTW, I was aware of France Telecom's Minitel offering of the early 80s when it was launched and followed it for some time, but not the German equivalent which you cited (videotext). Would you mind expanding on the latter offering for a moment, giving us a better historical perspective of what it consisted of? TIA.
Regards, Frank Coluccio |
