Government proposes free WIFI over government airwaves

[magnafides]

Originally Posted by wargunfan

I say keep it in the private sector where real jobs would be created and some privacy can be expected.

That's not good enough. Service providers here have done a great job of making money, but not such a good job keeping up with the rest of the world. Maybe someday the private sector here will figure out how to provide broadband as well as they do in Ukraine...

[MichiGator2002]

Originally Posted by wgbgator

Yeah, yeah. The gov't has no business in anything other than what you think it has business in.

I use the US mail and FedEx & UPS regularly. They all seem to coexist and I have really no major complaints about the service from any of them.

No, it has no business in anything other than its very specific and straightforward charter says it has business in. Rule of law and all that prosaic nonsense.

[oragator1]

For those wondering whether the government airwaves could be efficient, they are the exact same airwaves that were used for TV broadcasting for several generations, and almost no one ever complained about their effectiveness.
Imagine all of that money currently spent on a product that doesn't in itself create anything being pumped back into the economy for tangible goods, and think about all of the additional people with Internet access, for learning , entrepreneurship, communication etc., plus the flexibility and cost savings it would provide current businesses. Yes it would mean some loss of jobs at large companies, but the benefits would be huge.

[mdgator05]

Originally Posted by oragator1

For those wondering whether the government airwaves could be efficient, they are the exact same airwaves that were used for TV broadcasting for several generations, and almost no one ever complained about their effectiveness.
Imagine all of that money currently spent on a product that doesn't in itself create anything being pumped back into the economy for tangible goods, and think about all of the additional people with Internet access, for learning , entrepreneurship, communication etc., plus the flexibility and cost savings it would provide current businesses. Yes it would mean some loss of jobs at large companies, but the benefits would be huge.

I'd personally be surprised if this ends up being more than a threat in the face of an end to network neutrality. Google, Mozilla, and company get to keep network neutrality. The major telecoms get to keep their Internet sales business.

[96Gatorcise]

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-...19-906125.html

Bristol, Tennessee goes super high-speed with 1 Gigabit broadband network

[96Gatorcise]

http://chattanoogagig.com/

Why did we do it? In Chattanooga, we have a legacy of taking bold steps that benefit our community. When Volkswagen announced Chattanooga as its headquarters for North American manufacturing, and Amazon.com chose our city for their new distribution centers, it was a nice confirmation that we're on the right track.

But we're just getting started. Because everything we create - from infrastructure to opportunity - we build of, by and for our community.


And we are looking for people to join us. We're open for business.

Using high speed tech to bring jobs to their city...

[Lawdog88]

As long as they can use the new, powerful, wi-fi technology to figure out who has guns and who doesn't, I'm down wid dat.

[uftaipan]

I think this is a great idea. First, though, we need to assert that wifi is some kind of universal human right that the government is responsible to provide for everyone who resides within these borders, citizen or not. We don't even need a constitutional amendment; if we just assert it loud enough and long enough, then it will just become the truth. Then we need to pass a 53%-payer -- er, scratch that; I meant, a single-payer -- system to fund this outstanding idea. I don't even think it should end there. Just think of all the good we can do if we just declare every privilege or individual responsibility a universal right of some kind. I'm stoked, I tell you.

[MichiGator2002]

Originally Posted by 96Gatorcise

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-...19-906125.html

Bristol, Tennessee goes super high-speed with 1 Gigabit broadband network

Nice to see a government that at least has a legitimate claim of legal authority for this kind of boutique service being the one to provide it.

This is a perfect example of the sort of thing Congress could take on by block granting it to states -- a valid exercise of the spending power to encourage a valid exercise of the police power by those that actually have it. That isn't to say that I want the federal government spending money on it at all, but it would at least be a way to do it that doesn't try to warp the scope of Congress' power yet again.

[RealGatorFan]

The frickin way!!! That means all traffic would go through their filters so as long as you tow the party line, you are ok.

[baygator1]

Originally Posted by Row6

May or may not be a good idea, depending on details and putting aside knee jerk anti-government rants. It is true that the US lags behind the rest of the world in wireless service, including many third world countries, and that a unified national system could provide the means for advancement in many untold ways across the nation, much as does the federal interstate highway system and as did the Rural Electrification Administration in the 1930's.

I'm not sure I'd equate the government handling/controlling private communication between citizens with interstate highways or providing electricity to rural areas. I'd also be wary about what would really be advanced in that scenario.

[Gatorrick22]

Originally Posted by surfn1080

If govt has it hands on it, it would suck...

[Gatorrick22]

Originally Posted by kygator

And yet, still cost a lot of money.

They'll wait until a large populace of Americans actually use it then introduce 'SERVICE' fees...... for revenue. This is the perfect way for the government to "takeover" another industry.

[thedyc09]

Originally Posted by uftaipan

I think this is a great idea. First, though, we need to assert that wifi is some kind of universal human right that the government is responsible to provide for everyone who resides within these borders, citizen or not.

I know this is obviously sarcasm, but there are very many people who would agree with this.

I take it that you are thinking of "the internet" as a good or service, and that your monthly subscription to your ISP is like buying a Coke at McDonalds with free refills. You pay a fee, and for that you get to access the internet unlimited times until the next month. Under this line of thinking, the idea of the government providing wifi access is like the government opening McFederaldonalds and selling (subsidized) Cokes for 25 cents less (but the syrup runs out faster and the lines are longer).

There is an alternate line of thinking that imagines "the internet" as much larger concept - something more like "news" + "information" + "speech" + "education" + "expression". I use those words specifically because they are all things that we, as a society, have pretty much become accustomed to having a realistic expectation of access to. Suddenly, telecom ISPs start sounding a lot more like private schools versus the government public school.

[magnafides]

...and to absolutely nobody's surprise, it turns out that the media blew this more than a little bit out of proportion:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...every-us-city/

[Swampmaster]

with govt wifi, will govt agents monitor all wifi communication?

[Row6]

Originally Posted by baygator1

I'm not sure I'd equate the government handling/controlling private communication between citizens with interstate highways or providing electricity to rural areas. I'd also be wary about what would really be advanced in that scenario.

As I noted in my post, the devil would be in the details, and among those would have to be safeguarding privacy and security against abusing access by the government and anyone else. Otherwise, like utilities and roads, which benefit all citizens, and whose implementations are difficult if not impossible by private business, a national wi-fi system could be of immense importance for business and educational usage.

[Gatorrick22]

Originally Posted by Row6

As I noted in my post, the devil would be in the details, and among those would have to be safeguarding privacy and security against abusing access by the government and anyone else. Otherwise, like utilities and roads, which benefit all citizens, and whose implementations are difficult if not impossible by private business, a national wi-fi system could be of immense importance for business and educational usage.

Year right, the last time the big bad government decided to "help" our country's citizens was by attempting to implement a Pub Idea of lowering the cost of healthcare........ Instead of lowering the price that actually accelerated the costs and then they took it over completely.

And you want us to believe the government again? We know the definition of insanity, maybe you should look it up again to refresh your memory of it.

[Swampmaster]

to "stimulate" the economy and help big connected auto dealers, how about another $3 billion "cash for clunkers" program?

[Row6]

Originally Posted by Gatorrick22

Year right, the last time the big bad government decided to "help" our country's citizens country was by attempting to implement a Pub Idea of lowering the cost of healthcare........ Instead of lowering the price that actually accelerated to costs and took it over completely.

And you want us to believe the government again? We know the definition of insanity, maybe you should look it up again to refresh your memory of it.

Perhaps you have never heard of the interstate highway system, the Rural Electrification Administration, Hoover Damn, Oak Ridge Nuclear Power facility, or all the even earlier governmental utilities which helped us become the worlds breadbasket and industrial powerhouse. But closer to home, maybe you think UF, that bastion of socialized higher education is more expensive and less efficient than it's private competitors. You should get that knee jerk looked at.