Ian ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Pollak" <mpollak at panix.com> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2001 10:14 PM Subject: Re: Telecoms- Why Planning is Better than Capitalism
>
> On Mon, 18 Jun 2001, Nathan Newman wrote:
>
> > The attached article is the best summary of why telecom deregulation
> > has been a wasteful, irrational, destructive approach to building the
> > high-speed Internet future. As the article notes, billions has been
> > wasted building competing long distance fiber optic lines, ONLY 5% OF
> > WHICH ARE NOW BEING USED, while investments in the critical last mile
> > to the homes and office have had severe underinvestments.
>
> Just out of curiousity, it is possible that this could turn out in the end
> to be a good thing for consumers? That after investors take a
> well-deserved bath, someone else buys the assets for what they think they
> will actually add to revenue after all the other necessary costs are taken
> into account, so that some useful infrastructure ends up getting built
> that wouldn't have if it was properly costed out? For some reason I got
> the vague impression that something like this happened with the Chunnel
> and with the overbuilding of railroads.
>
> Michael
> __________________________________________________________________________
> Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com
>