I Like Politics

His name is not Barry, it's Barack Obama. He may have tried Barry when he was much younger, because morons cannot pronounce Barack properly.

The debt initial growth was the a gift of the Bush regime, that took effect right after he left office. If you don't know what cumulative debt is, look it up.

If you may not have noticed, the racial divide is one-sided. It's for those who are not capable of digesting that we have a Black President.

I don't see any evidence that the President is corrupt as hell. Even Trmup did not make this accusation.

I will, however, comment on the issue of net neutrality, and wireless communications.

Microsoft, in 1997, was promoting a vision for a true broadband (Gbps, not Mbps) network, capable of delivering applications and services through the cloud, tethered or un-tethered, was hindered by the duopoly (phone and cable company).

Is a $25, per month, phone bill possible? yes, and it covers your fixed phone, and mobile phone, and that includes your data.

How about one bill: $75 per month. It covers your phone service (mobile and fixed), all the data you can eat, your Gbps Internet connection, and your basic TV services (all the free channels).

This vision is not compatible with that of a wireless service provider, like yourself, who wants to make money, charging for "faster" lanes, that can be used to deliver specialized services, or even entertainment.

But, forget about net neutrality, here's why your business is doomed: Alpha. They are buying up dark fiber all over the country (and the world), and hooking it up to wireless clusters, and building it up. Microsoft would have been there 15 years ago, had they not been so focused on their retail product strategy, so they disbanded their internal efforts to build what Alpha is starting to build now, so their people with the know how cashed out and retired.

Apple wants to do the same thing, and Facebook wants to do the same thing.

Nevertheless, the battle is not over. AT&T promises to appeal, and the GOP, through the House Appropriations Committee approved a budget that will cut $69M from the FCC funding, essentially what the FCC needs to enforce the classification of ISPs as Common Carriers. The President will probably veto that bill.

I don't know why AT&T does not see the oncoming Alpha/Google, Apple, Facebook train, but you may want to be in a different business. Even in urban environments, where WISPs thrived, they're having to revise their business models, because the "phone" companies are starting to deploy fiber to the premise solutions that are reasonably priced.

You still have the niche wireless markets, but...

@TallJames: I was just kidding about google'ing stuff :-) No, I did not look these things up on Google.

There is a fiber optic network, that's not totally utilized, that spans nationally, over high voltage power lines, seeping into every single community, through medium voltage power lines. If you want to be a WISP, then you should probably be OK leasing/buying data through this network. If you want to run fiber to every home in the rural community, then that's a different story, as last mile is not 100% built up with fiber.

What stuns me, is that all the primary and secondary carriers (cable and phone), and a bunch of other carriers, are still building up fiber networks, without giving a single thought to sharing.

This is tragic and not good for customers. I wish the government would force them to cooperate, but then there would be cries of socialism. There's no reason why I do not have Gbps + phone + basic cable, for $25 per month.

If you go to Chelan, a tiny community in Eastern Washington, you will find fiber to the home. The same for more than half the rural communities in Washington State. But not Seattle!

The reason is that these rural communities, followed technology and did what they were advised to do. Seattle did not. Alas, in these communities, there are no ISPs taking advantage of what they have at their disposal.

Roughly 18 years ago, one of the houses in a community, near Seattle, that was receiving fiber to the home, was showing a spike in Internet traffic. When asked, the people (Eastern European) in the house finally fessed up to buying the house, specifically, so they can run a porn server farm. They explained that $17 per month for fiber service, was well worth the mortgage, when the equivalent from the phone company (if available) would have cost more than $10,000 per month.

Good luck with the waitresses (does it ever work with waitresses?), and don't forget that had Bill Gates not bailed Apple out in 1997, there would be no Apple today. Of course, he thought it would not look good for Microsoft's anti-trust trial, if Apple disappeared, but I'm sure he regrets that decision now.

@TallJames: Apologies, I use Alpha as short for Alphabet. Google is a subsidiary. The "network" is a shared resource, so while it may have started under Google, it will become a separate and shared resource, with credits back for tax/admin purposes, also in order to avoid some sort of anti-competitive claims in the future.

Why would you want to lay fiber? Of course I have no idea what markets you serve, but you should be able to either find dark fiber, laid during the tech bubble, and is now going for pennies on the dollar, or see if you can strike a deal with the local power companies. The latter have been laying fiber over their right of way, either aerially, or through underground vaults. You need to know whom to ask, because 99% of the people have no clue what their companies/municipalities have.

For example: I needed some fiber to an office building, so I called the telco. They assured me that they had none, and that it would cost a fortune to pull fiber for me. I finally made my way to the VP in charge of network infrastructure, and told him exactly where the fiber terminal was (25 yards from the office building, in an underground vault), and how to pull it to the building, using the exiting tunnel under the building, and into the data room.

The last time I produced a nationwide fiber footprint map, post bubble burst, more than 85% of it was dark. Most of the fiber laid out during the bubble is good enough quality, to be used to connect DWDM Rx/Tx equipment.

I Google this stuff, you know :-)

I am retired (sort of).

If you have something tangible to discuss about the President, then let's, otherwise, it's just rumors and innuendo. You may disagree with his political, fiscal and economic views, but it does not mean he's corrupt.

I would love to have a good black president this president is awful and corrupt as hell. Barry is a horrible person, a horrible leader and can't get out of office fast enough. Right down to net neutrality which just passed. I am a struggling private wireless internet service provider. And yes I did build that with no help from Barry and his czars. Net neutrality will destroy my business and I am now looking to sell it because of net neutrality. Wtg Barry. You didn't help me build it but you sure did do a lot to destroy it. Before you say he has nothing to do with it. I have met with many off the FCC chairs and he has a lot of influence not to mention appointed some of the chairs that are pushing net neutrality.

Again thanks Barry. Sure would be nice to have someone who knows how to provide jobs and build a business from scratch.

You are a well informed man Northwest. May I ask what you do. I figured you were talking about Aplhabet but had not heard them called alpha before. If we are not able to lay fiber in the next two years we will definitely be getting out. It is the only true play for a wisp. Many of the other WISP's across the country have went this route and would be able to fend off an aplha play because they are local and people want to be local. If there was a price war they would be able to withstand an onslaught by a Fortune 500.

I'm going to stop listing things I see wrong with Obama as I know it is falling on deaf ears. I will just say for someone as informed and educated as you it is a shame you seem to be blinded by this administration and its evils and missteps.

ill get back with you on the tangible I need to make sure my statement is well crafted.

The fiber we would lay would be to very rural areas. I would be surprised if they had fiber in these areas. What was the search term you used for this fiber map.

When I worked at Apple and jobs was still alive I had a lively discussion with the head of our department American Consumer Sales. Goog iPo was about a year earlier and I told him then that the first trillion dollar company would be Goog not Apple. Apple had a market cap of about 550B at the time. I told him Apple had a finite market they would have to expand here reach beyond physical product or Goog will most certainly be the largest company in terms of revenue, earnings and market cap. Aapl couldn't break 700b market cap and now Goog is just 50b behind them at 475 and 525. It looks like I was right. The Aphabet move was arguably the best strategic move I've ever seen a Fortune 500 company make.

I've had two beers now and I'm going to get back to flirting with my waitress. I'll get back to you on what I don't think to be rumor or innuendo.