Saturday, July 5

Vint Cerf Says Government Needs To Encourage Internet Competition

An interesting conversation here, but I am not very sure that Vint Cerf's ideas are really right up there. I have had my conversations with him in Malaysia and I found a rather naive belief that permeates his thinking, and here's another example.

Why is it that broadband is necessary for development? And why is this idea so entrenched? that's really bad and sad that people are jumping up and down saying that we need to have broadband. Erm, why? Why must I pay my tax dollars to pay for an internet? How does India work without broadband and manage to do wonderfully well with mobiles?

then he looks at the internet as a road system. And he thinks that the private sector abuses the internet. Well, give me a reason to use it, as I have already told him. All those airy fairy pie in the sky models where money magically appears to pay for his internet toys simply will not work. You need to show and tell me how your work actually adds value to me. And if I find it valuable, then I will pay for it. The fact that the majority of the Web 2.0 companies have not made much money and very few have actually made a profit tells me that their economic model sucks. And then come along people, who after failing to get money from the open market, run crying to the government to pay for their taxes.

Sod it, no bloody way. Net neutrality be damned, you pay for what you use. As for dis-enfanchising the people, well, here's my question, since when did I as the people become responsible for everything you do? if you live in a place which does not have suitable services, well, you either go without or move to a place where there is this facility. I see no reason to support this idea that the government exists to provide every bloody service for every bloody person. No, sorry, it does not. It has to first make sure we are secure, and then stay the hell away from me.

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