Hi Frank -
We've been discussing the benefits of HSI and broadband for years - with the admitted qualification that such discussions were hypothetical, since nobody had quantified those supposed benefits.
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"On specific dollar amounts, I'd guess we need further research. But after studying similar "top down" (ie., policy-driven) initiatives in Sweden, the Netherlands, Iceland, and more recently the UK, I can state with confidence that all players are enjoying various degrees of profitability.
To be sure, they're not being allowed the rake-off that was enjoyed by former incumbents. They're not being allowed into the content game. Some players are simple bit-carriers.
But as they say, "It's a living".
The final question being evaded is Intangible Benefit. By that I mean societal gains.
The general proposition being advanced by people like me is that there IS a benefit in improved communication within national entities, specifically, increased throughput at reasonable cost.
This is aside from, but related to the question of profit. If you like, it's a different kind of "profit".
The premise is that increased throughput can or will benefit the education, governmental administration, the arts, cultural and national homogeneity, commerce, and so on.
That premise is the justification for subsidization: simply put, it's the Infrastructure Premise.
Proponents of "bottom up" should be asked to what extent the companies they support are engaging in that kind of public-spirited expansion of communication.
We already know the answer.
And we already know, from history and experience, that every advance in human communication has had benefits. On what basis is that decided?
Simple: communication is fundamental to human coexistence. Trivially or consequentially, humans communicate. The easier you make it, the more they do it.
The more they do it, the more they share, know, understand, learn, interact."
Message 23082470
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So what does that mean in dollars?
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The Economic Impact of Stimulating Broadband Nationally
connectednation.com
Jim |
