I've always been pro-tax credit, based on my personal agenda. I think it incourages investment, not only helps reduce an ISP's tax burden.
However, from my experience debating ARRA, I learned there can be some disadvantages of Tax Credits. The BIG disadvantage for WISPs is that it helps Large Telcos and Cable Cos and large scale VC backed companies the most. They have tons of income they'd love to have tax relief from. They also have tons of money to invest, WISPs may have less comparatively. Probaly the best way to get FIOS built out to your community, to put the local WISP out of business, is to give Verizon a healthy Tax credit to Invest there. The bottom line is large companies have cash and favorable borrowing capabilty and have no problem looking at 30 years out to gain their ROI. WISPs on the other hand tend to be more upfront cash constrainted. Even lending can be limted due to insufficient colladeral. Now I understand many business owners are better off than others in their ablty to get larger scale funding. But as projects scale larger, it becomes more of a challenge. The Large Telcos (and USF ILECs) always will have more recognized colladeral. This is one of the reasons that in ARRA lobbying that the concept of Loan assistance and Grants was preferable to lobby for. That would be more beneficial to a WISP than a tax credit on income they never had, because they never were able to fund their proposed project in the first place. The question to be asked is..... Do we want to ask for tax credits, that would help WISPs a little bit, at the expense of helping our competitors a lot? If the goal is to help more American get faster broadband sooner, Tax Credits is a great idea. But if the goal is to help make sure WISPs becomes a larger part of that solution, I'm not so sure it helps us. Strategically, it would benefit WISPs if we could discourage investment from large carriers. The other thing is that Tax Credits equally rewards all spending whether it is efficent or wasteful spending. Dont we want policy that focuses rewards to those that spent more efficiently? WISP's advantage is that they have more affordable cost of deployment. One of the things I challenge today is where there is any place left on teh planet in rural America that is not cost effective to serve with wireless? With the exception of Tower costs. If line of sight can be acheived, and twoers are needed, the cost to deploy an area can skyrocket. But otherwise, even rural areas of 1 home per square mile can be afforded with Fixed Wireless. HAving a low dnsity is actually preferred. When a 2.4Ghz AP can extend 20 miles, and can only support about 20-50 homes per AP, its a perfect match for low density rural terrain. I also have no patience for thoise that say a small rurla town can survive without being a monopoly. I live in a farm town with 300 homes, 25 acre zoning minimum, most have much more land per farm.. And here are 4 WISPs in this town, and there is enough revenue for each of us, for each of us to justify keeping up operations. What it means is that we dont put all our eggs in one town. Having 25% of the market in 4 towns, is equivellent to 100% of the market to serve one. I only need 5 customers in a town for it to be profitable to serve. (again, there are exceptions to that based on tower requirements). But the answer is just to spread out farther, so one towns infrastructure can subsidize the next's. Sometimes it means diversity, where a provider might need to offer otehr services like Compueter repir or traininf along side their Broadband opperations. But that has often been the way it is in small towns, where businesses serve more than one function for its community, than its core competency. What people really mean is that Fiber is more cost effective to deploy as a monopoly. Isn't what we really need is continued awareness building that Wireless delivers what people need, and what is needed is investment in Wireless. Like the Rolling Stones said, "You cant always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you can get what you need". The other thing is that a tax credit will decrease the fed government revenue earned from larger telcos (our competitirs), which is a huge sum of money. Wouldn't it be better if that revenue was kept, and reused for broadband programs that would help smaller providers and competitive providers? Killing off USF and giving tax credits in combined would benefit wealthy urban/suburban RBOCs and Cable Cos the most. One price advantage that WISPs have today, is that we dont have to impose that 6% USF tax today on our subscribers. Its one of the hidden charges on teh telco bill, that helps reduce how much RBOCS out price us. How many WISPs advertise, "no hidden charges"? Tom DeReggi RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband ----- Original Message ----- From: "MDK" <rea...@muddyfrogwater.us> To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 1:09 AM Subject: Re: [WISPA] How the FCC Proposes the Regulate Broadband > Please note that I said "refundable" tax credits. That is, if your > credits > are more than your taxes, you get a check back. > > This could be done so that your refunds would be quarterly. > > > > > > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > Neofast, Inc, Making internet easy > 541-969-8200 509-386-4589 > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > -------------------------------------------------- > From: "Scottie Arnett" <sarn...@info-ed.com> > Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 8:24 PM > To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> > Subject: Re: [WISPA] How the FCC Proposes the Regulate Broadband > >> >> Considering past tax rebates, or credits, to take full advantage would >> require that you are way in the black. This would help newer WISP >> somewhat, but most are in the red from the beginning. It would definitely >> help sustained WISP's that have been at it for a few years. >> >> Scottie >> >>> -- >>> /* >>> Jason Philbrook | Midcoast Internet Solutions - Wireless and DSL >>> KB1IOJ | Broadband Internet Access, Dialup, and Hosting >>> http://f64.nu/ | for Midcoast Maine http://www.midcoast.com/ >>> */ >>> >>> >>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org >>> >>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>> >>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>> >> >> >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> WISPA Wants You! 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