Exploring the Value of Public Investment in “Generative” Fiber Infrastructure

16 Apr 2016

Exploring the Value of Public Investment in “Generative” Fiber Infrastructure

In an earlier post I described the BTOP Comprehensive Community Infrastructure (CCI) program as a “very good investment of public funds.” My reasons were twofold, the first one being that it expanded the availability of high-speed connectivity in underserved areas, including more than 42,000 miles of new and 24,000 miles of upgraded fiber infrastructure. The second was that research by ASR Analytics suggests that the CCI program accomplished this expansion in a way that addresses both forms of economic harm claimed by advocates on both sides of the special access regulation debate. As a result, I suggested “that the federal […]

16 Apr 2016

Community Broadband As Generative Infrastructure

In an earlier post I discussed Marjorie Kelly’s framework for distinguishing “generative” vs. “extractive” ownership models. In this post, I’ll try to further clarify this distinction by considering some key characteristics of community-owned local access networks in relation to Kelly’s framework (in my next post I’ll shift my focus to middle mile and special access fiber). To get started, I’ll reiterate one of my key working premises, that when an extractive ownership model is combined with a lack of competitive pressure or corrective regulation (as is currently the situation in much of the nation’s local access and special access markets), service […]

16 Apr 2016

Extractive vs. Generative Ownership of Telecom Infrastructure

In her 2012 book Owning Our Future: The Emerging Ownership Revolution, Marjorie Kelly, Executive Vice President and a Senior Fellow with The Democracy Collaborative, provides a framework for understanding and distinguishing what she describes as “generative” vs. “extractive” ownership designs. In key respects, the book builds on Kelly’s first book, The Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy, published more than a decade ago (you can read the latter’s introduction here). Drawing an apt and powerful parallel to the divine right of kings, Kelly’s first book does a masterful job of opening readers’ minds to the arbitrary and distorting nature of […]

16 Apr 2016

The Internet as “Spillover-Rich” Infrastructure

A key source that informs my perspective on special access policy—and telecom policy in general—is Brett Frischmann’s 2012 book, Infrastructure: The Social Value of Shared Resources. Selected chapters from the book can be found here, and Frischmann provides a good overview of the book, including its Internet-related sections, in this talk at Harvard’s Berkman Center). Frischmann is a professor and co-Director of the Intellectual Property and Information Law program at Cardozo Law School in New York City. On page five of the book, Frischmann notes that “most economists recognize that infrastructure resources are important to society precisely because infrastructure resources give […]

16 Apr 2016

The Federal Government CAN Afford to Invest in Infrastructure

One argument against federal funding to support special access and community broadband networks—or potentially any infrastructure project—is that the federal government “can’t afford it,” especially given the widely held belief that it should prioritize balancing the federal budget and paying down the federal debt.[1] My suggestion to those holding this view (or being confused and/or intimidated by it in public policy debates) is to begin examining the extensive literature related to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), perhaps starting with the selection of material to which I provide links at the end of this post (some of which are scholarly in nature, others […]

15 Apr 2016

A “Public Infrastructure” Perspective on Special Access

As I discussed in an earlier post, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) recently released a paper by its Director of Research, Mark Cooper, which made the case that the FCC’s decision to deregulate special access in 1999 was premature and has resulted in large-scale economic harm, including an estimated $150 billion over the past five years. Cooper’s analysis focused on two elements of harm: 1) the direct cost associated with non-competitive excess-profit-extracting pricing and; 2) the indirect economic costs associated with this pricing regime. As it turns out, a few days after Cooper presented an overview of his analysis at […]

07 Apr 2016

BTOP’s Fiber Investment, Social Value & the Special Access Market

During the past few days I’ve been: 1) reviewing the BTOP program evaluation study’s final report prepared in 2014 by ASR Analytics and; 2) doing some homework aimed at better understanding issues related to the FCC’s pending special access study and proceeding. The former relates to a pending Quello Center research project, while the latter was prompted by release of a paper written by Mark Cooper, Director of Research at the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). Cooper presented the paper, entitled “The Special Problem of Special Access: Consumer Overcharges and Telephone Company Excess Profits,” at an April 5 event sponsored by […]

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