Bernard,
Did the FCC mess up, or did the money guys find a way to play? It is a sad statement on our times that we "put the rules in writing to form a level playing field." The spirit of any rules are hard to express in writing. Lawyers know this. Even if the rules are perfectly expressed, a way can be found once the rules are on the table. (Look at the threats the Telco people are making because they can't play.) Realistically, I don't think the FCC thought about the WNP possibilities because they were focused on the telephone folks.
It is too bad that during the process the FCC could not evaluate what types of bidders the rules created in the market place. Should the rules have flaws, they could be adjusted to eliminate flaws before bidding. For example, "Really rich guys not making much money cannot have a discount of any type when bidding on any LMDS license. In fact, any really rich guy that is that stupid, or expects us to believe they are that stupid will not be allowed to bid. We will determine if you are a really rich guy hiding behind another name. We will determine who gets discounts within the spirit of the rules, and not just by the letter of the rules." Hmmm, appears the rule maker is turning into a dictator of some type. Guess that won't work.
Being fair to one person often results in being unfair to another person. Maybe we are being unfair to telephone companies that have served us so well for so long by excluding them from this new technology.
Bottom line question. Are we helping to establish a modern robber baron society based on New Technologies? Yes, we are doing just that because we think old technology = old company + old boring people, and new technology = new company + young exciting people. Old companies die, New companies grow.
Interesting world we live in. I am surprised you raised the fair issue. I remember some years back when "greed is good" became popular. Now, people who made a lot of money being greedy want the rest of us to continue being fair. In the spirit of fairness, how do we capitalize on the new technorobber barons entering the LMDS auctions. The objective is to make some money for us old boring people before we are replaced by young exciting people.
:o) This post is covered by the "Truth in Humor Act" For an in depth study of this topic attend a business ethics course at your local college. "Ethical Greed - How to screw others and look good doing it."
NW |
