« BACK  |  PRINT

RS

FRONT PAGE CONTRIBUTOR

Tech at Night: Public Knowledge attacks me, Wireless subsides, Bad laws

Tech at Night

It turns out it’s not just a few of us on the right who know Tech at Night exists. Gigi Sohn says Tech at Night shapes the debate along with good old Less Government.

Of course, Sohn also told a lie about me and claimed AT&T pays me, but… that’s the head of a Soros-funded group for you. Media Marxists and all that.

Something I did not know: Millions of Americans are getting subsidized wireless. And gee, they’re using it to replace home phones rather than as a mere supplement, draining money from the government right to Sprint. But we’re supposed to think they’re the victims of unfair competition. Right.

Sadly the Congress is busy trying to regulate the Internet instead of trying to end wasteful subsidies. The Net Neutrality repeal failed in the Senate (and look at the angry comment Seton Motley got!), as the Democrats refused to control the Obama FCC’s excesses.

ACLJ warns of the problems with SOPA and PROTECT IP, the national Internet censorship blacklist bills I won’t stop going on about. This truly is a basic free speech issue. We’re talking bout censoring the Internet because American law doesn’t extend overseas. It’s foolish because it expands government, threatens our liberties, and can’t actually achieve much beyond threatening America’s Internet leadership.

Yeah, and I definitely don’t want even more federal regulations of sports in the form of anti-blackout rules, either.

COMMENTS

  • nathanalbright

    …would be a really good idea. But the whole point of subsidies seems to be like forcing or luring people to the big government teat so that they become dependent on government and therefore unable to function or imagine anything else other than some from of paternalistic socialism. Eventually freedom dies from too few people being willing and able to take responsibility for themselves.

  • eabjr

    Always good and helpful info Neil–thanks so much for your work! I can tell you that out here in N. Dakota there is alot of “hope” put on subsidies in the rural communication area….remote farms & towns that say they struggle for $ to run lines, etc. so far out and away; BUT there is $ here, its just that folks have been so conditioned to look to the Gov for subsidies—the history of gov. subsidies in the farming here has lended itself to this mentality. ANYWAY…no one is fighting for us!!! What is our congress doing? True ones make noise for awhile and then seem to get “co-opted” as Trent Lott arrogantly state once…!

  • http://www.dirkworld.com dirkbelig

    The constant bashing of Sprint leads me to believe you have a personal vendetta against them and are rooting for them to go out of business. Their opposition to the T-Mobile-AT&T merger is being spun by you as sour grapes for a company that deserves to die as their competition merges Voltron-like to monopolize the market. That your axe-grinding leads you to cheer LESS consumer choice has always struck me odd.

    Now, at the very link you provide, it says, “Sprint is not the only carrier involved in the program. Verizon Wireless and AT&T also participate, but it is unclear what percentage of new subscribers utilize Lifeline.” This indicates your opposition isn’t to taxpayer dollars being funneled as subsidies as much as your bete noir Sprint being a recipient.

    Please explain the basis for your unhinged hatred and constant animus toward Sprint. I’m guessing you had a customer service issue which has made you their Captain Ahab.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    .

  • GregInFla

    Can you go the satellite DirectTV route for internet out there in the rural areas? The ultimate in “wireless”?

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Basically what ND and places like that need is for government to make more spectrum available, and then to get OUT of the way.

  • onemovoter

    and use that spectrum for long distance wireless internet. It’s taking awhile though because technology has to be adapted to it on both ends. I’m out 10 miles from any town and currently use satellite, but do have the option to use 3G with a yogi antenna to boost signal.

    Thing is I know there is a trade off between living out here and in the city for internet. I also know that eventually there will be enough wireless to connect people. ND and SD and Nebraska though have huge swaths of space between people and towns. It’s much tougher to connect people there for example.

    You’re right though gov needs to let the spectrum out and get out of the way.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Well, the parts of the old VHF bloc that anyone *wanted* are already sold. Nobody wants the D block, but other blocks were bought up.

    Verizon in particular is using one of them for *its* LTE deployment, I believe.