On 5/30/07, Bryan O'Neal <BONeal@cornerstonehome.com> wrote:

Ok, but different things are important to us. If you worked 12 hours a day six days a week to purchase a new car every two years, a new cell phone every six months, and spent the equivalent of $400 / Mo on internet, and $7/ltr on gas and didn't mind cramming your entire family into a 600sqft apartment and every one you knew and everyone they knew did the same then in just 15 -20 years we would have the same standard of living they do with cheep high speed internet and great mass transit.

Im not really sure if I understand your argument here... if we spend $400/month on internet for long enough were going to get 'cheep high speed internet'?

It's a package deal people, you can't look at only the things you want and blame the government that you don't have it and look at the things you don't want and blame the government you have to suffer with it. The basic issue is we are capitalists, if you want it buy it and if you don't want to pay for it I bet I can find some one in Japan that does.

First off, I like to think what I am presenting here is a bit more sophisticated than whining about prices and lack of public services. Although statements like 'this is the Free Market(tm)!' ala Barry Goldwater seem to garner much applause out here in AZ, a close look at the situation reveals that our current market situation is as much due to the introduction of regulation policy as the absence of it. There are a lot of experts who have illustrated these problems far more lucidly than I. -jmz

From: plug-discuss-bounces@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us [mailto:plug-discuss-bounces@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us] On Behalf Of Joshua Zeidner
Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 8:45 PM
To: Main PLUG discussion list
Subject: Re: COX Communications Sucks (Was: moving e-mail)

On 5/29/07, Kevin Brown <kevin_brown@qwest.net> wrote:

>    It may surprise many that the U.S. is considered to be relatively
> behind in terms of broadband penetration and market maturity( aka.
> affordability ).  In my view, this situation is due entirely to our
> current regulation policy.
>
>    http://www.freepress.net/docs/bbrc2-final.pdf
>
>    "In Japan, symmetrical 100Mbps connections are available for less
> than $35 per month"
>
>    http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060913-7731.html

They also have half the population of the US crammed onto islands the
size of California and a huge chunk of that land is unusable (mt. Fuji).
  With such a high density it is much easier to build the infrastructure
and their culture supports the idea of the upgrades (workers can work
longer hours via telecommuting).  Look at the difference in cell phone
technologies.  Most people I know here in the states prefer to replace a
damaged phone with a similar model and tend to keep a phone till it dies
before replacing it.  In Japan it is normal to replace a perfectly
working phone with a new model with new features every 6 months.

true, but remember: the technology was developed here, we are the supposedly the wealthiest and most advanced nation on earth, and we have pumped billions in tax money into communications infrastructure development( the infrastructure is there, its the 'legendary last mile' that is the problem ). Remember the 'Information Superhighway'? There is no doubt that there are political dimensions to this seemingly technological problem. There is the 'digital divide' scenario, and there is the general issues of the telco monopoly holding residential areas hostage.

Its true that the Japanese are quite crazy when it comes to electronics... and keep in mind the US is not trailing right behind Japan, it rates below a number of European and Asian countries in broadband deployment. In my view there is no excuse for this. There is something wrong when these mega-telco companies simultaneously plead to the public for policy concessions while their stock valuation goes through the roof.

-jmz