I don’t comment all that often here, but very much pay attention to the voices of experience. On Net Neutrality, I have plenty to say. As with most of my FCC comments, what I filed 2 weeks ago with them went against the grain. I am a purist who has been in telecom since I repaired my first CB radio for a neighbor at the age of 14. I helped launch Metromedia’s cellular system in NY, a company I was a part owner in was the first acquisition of Fleetcall in NY City. Anyone as old as me would remember that Fleetcall became NexTel, and for the real youngsters, they were acquired by Sprint for what turned out to be a total write-off of $35 billion in December of 2004. I have been using unlicensed radio to link communications sites since long before it went digital.
One thing my experience and observations have taught me is that nothing promotes innovation like free market. We need not look beyond our own industry to prove that. When no one would service 40% of America, we collectively built an industry that matured into a recognized and respected market sector. I was involved in the previous formation of an industry that is both parallel and intertwined with WISPS, that of home satellite television. Back in the mid 1970’s a band of tenacious, adventurous experimenters took handfuls of surplus junk and built home earth stations. In short order we went from being pirates and thieves to an established medium to reach rural America. It wasn’t long before the big money found us and pushed us out of the way. We went from a place where we could make a respectable income to being lackeys for DirecTV and DISH who generously paid us a few dollars to do the job and then gave us a big residual of 50 cents to about two dollars, on subscribers that ARPU of $100 or more. WISPs have been struggling to keep up with the Netflix demand since they went to Internet delivery in 2009. Systems big and small quickly found their choke points. And like in highway design, if you upgrade one intersection, the traffic jam just moves to the next unimproved intersection. The problem is, unlike the highway department, we don’t run on tax revenue. We have to charge subscribers for a service that is both fair and responsive to their needs. The SPRINT concept in the article is the most fair and responsible way to assure that our infrastructure can meet the demand, and that those creating the demand are the ones paying for it. The FCC needs to stop cow-towing to the illiterate public who are still touting that they need to “protect the FREE Internet”. Who gets this for free? If you are in a coffee shop, the proprietor is paying for it. Public Wi-Fi is advertising or tax subsidized. Do we get power, water, heating for free? Ten years ago we projected a mass movement from the PSTN to VoIP. Even the industry experts never predicted a loss of 48% of copper lines in 10 years. What was built up over a century dissipated in the blink of an eye. We are again on the cusp of a shift in the paradigm that will see cable and satellite users shift to Internet based delivery on any device they desire. The same dramatic reduction witnessed in copper phone lines awaits the traditional Multichannel marketplace. And along with the big guns, we are on the front line. We will be expected to deliver copious amounts of data to subscribers as they stream HD video and music to multiple devices in their homes and offices. We, the WISP industry, need to step up our game if we are going to remain part of this. We are going to have to emulate the cellular industry with frequency reuse like we never imagined. We are going to have to replace our older radios with ones that can deliver the required bandwidth, and our backhauls are going to need enough capacity to handle all this. But how do we justify the cost, who do we charge, and how do we do it? The early agreement with Verizon and Netflix that received the FCC’s blessing was never going to benefit everyone. How long would it take for you and I to get Netflix to pay for our “fast lane”? My guess was never. Netflix, Hulu, and the like have created a business model where they have no cost to deliver a product to their users. They are using the infrastructure built and paid for by others, then stirring up the ignorant masses to complain to the FCC about the free Internet. I have learned the hard way that no matter what is done to increase bandwidth, the increase is negated in short order, often weeks if not days, by savvy users that realize they can pull another stream and waste no time setting it up. The simple answer is, let the market decide. If you want Netflix, each stream will cost you a monthly fee. Likewise for other streaming services. This way the user pays, not everyone. From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Josh Luthman Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2014 10:39 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Net neutrality, The beginning of the end http://www.droid-life.com/2014/07/30/12-a-month-for-facebook-sprint-tramples-over-net-neutrality-with-new-prepaid-plan/?utm_source=feedburner <http://www.droid-life.com/2014/07/30/12-a-month-for-facebook-sprint-tramples-over-net-neutrality-with-new-prepaid-plan/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DroidLife+%28Droid+Life%29&utm_content=FaceBook> &utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DroidLife+%28Droid+Life%29&utm_content=FaceBook Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373
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