An Op-Ed written by Tim Wu was published in The New York Times on July 30.
Tim Wu is a professor at Columbia Law School and the co-author of "Who Controls the Internet?" He also coined the term Net Neutrality.
Tim is quoted numerous times in the Policy chapter of BE THE MEDIA.
He has also endorsed the book:
"BE THE MEDIA is uplifting and empowering."- Tim Wu
The article, entitled "OPEC 2.0", discusses the relationship between oil and bandwidth as they pertain to American citizens. Bandwidth is what allows the transfer of information. He claims that the two are similar in that they are both economic inputs controlled by tight groups of producers. These producers turn a profit by creating an illusion of scarcity.
According to Tim, "Many 'owners' of spectrum either hardly use the stuff or use it in highly inefficient ways. At any given moment, more than 90 percent of the nation's airwaves are empty." When companies create this illusion of scarcity, they are able to charge higher prices for their services.
Like oil, Tim says that there are alternative sources of bandwidth that do not require going through this small control group, and he encourages entrepreneurs to help build better wireless systems and fiber optic solutions. Tim cites the example that, "Amsterdam and some cities in Utah have deployed their own fiber to carry bandwidth as a public utility."
It is just as imperative to search for bandwidth alternatives as it is to look for energy alternatives, because "in an information economy, the supply and price of bandwidth matters...for the whole economy".
Learn more about Community Internet and Media Policy.
Buy an advanced copy
of BE THE MEDIA:
Great blog, Thanks for getting your book in Print~
Pam
Posted by: Pam Perry | August 10, 2008 at 05:12 PM