The FCC is planning new net neutrality rules. And they could enshrine pay-for-play. - The Washington Post

Fri Apr 25 04:23:27 UTC 2014

Might one example of what Larry is talking about be cable providers? Also
telephone companies. 

They are often awarded exclusive contracts within cities.

Do regulations prohibit anyone from becoming a cable company, in addition to
capital costs and difficulty of easements?

-Kiriki Delany

-----Original Message-----
From: Larry Sheldon [mailto:LarrySheldon at cox.net] 
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2014 9:16 PM
To: nanog at nanog.org
Subject: Re: The FCC is planning new net neutrality rules. And they could
enshrine pay-for-play. - The Washington Post

On 4/24/2014 10:44 PM, Patrick W. Gilmore wrote:
> On Apr 24, 2014, at 23:38 , Larry Sheldon <LarrySheldon at cox.net>
> wrote:
>> On 4/24/2014 10:23 PM, Patrick W. Gilmore wrote:
>
>>> The invisible hand of the market cannot fix problems when there is a 
>>> monopoly.
>>>
>>> Put in economic terms, a player with Market Power is extracting 
>>> Rents. (Capitalization is intentional.)
>>>
>>> Regulating monopolies allows a market to work, not the opposite.
>>
>> Regulating monopolies protects monopolies from competition.
>>
>> Monopolies can not persist without regulation.
>
> You are confused.

No.  I am not.

> Unless you are talking about "persist" on a time horizon spanning 
> generations.

A monopoly can persist, as a maximum, as long as regulation protects it.

Just look at the words!  "Regulated Monopoly" has no definition without a
monopoly.

If so, then nothing can persist, with or without
> regulation. And more importantly, I am not willing to wait that long 
> for a fix.

"fix" is another monopoly preserver.

>> A regulated monopoly is a monopoly, with all of the powers granted to 
>> monopolies by regulation.
>
> Regulations can work to ensure monopolies do not form. This is not 
> supposition, but historical fact.

There is no case where regulation of monopolies prevented monopolies. 
The sentence doesn't even make any sense.

If that were actually true, there couldn't be any "regulated monopolies" 
could there?

> It is an open question whether our current regulator regime is capable 
> of repeating that feat, however.

There are a number of cases in history where the absence of regulation has
prevented monopolies.

-- 
Requiescas in pace o email           Two identifying characteristics
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Ex turpi causa non oritur actio      Infallibility, and the ability to
                                         learn from their mistakes.
                                           (Adapted from Stephen Pinker)