Posts by Mike K

More open spectrum then?

The proposed auctions (perhaps non-auctions) seem a good opportunity to split infrastructure from services and use the opportunity to force the full separation of Openreach with a tease of some spectrum so we can crack on with creating a merged data transport fabric.

Dumb is well designed!

He should have said yes, and perhaps added a dumb network is a well designed network, with transparent operational properties and established planning rules. What's wrong with being a utility, delivering universal connectivity? We will happily convert our payments for legacy voice into peak hour bit carrying capacity and keep paying the monthly subs. Any operator poverty is due to Governments talking of UNiversal Broadband and then selling spectrum to the highest bidder. The whole spectrum process assumes operators create a complex system which can be protected and a premium charged.

The electromagnetic spectrum is the clever bit, thinking you can sell it as Governments do starts some very dysfunctional behaviour, as companies have to create complexity and scarcity in order to get back the money paid to use the spectrum. The fees paid are fees to guarantee its poor use.

It would be better if Google spent its billions to get the Government out of the way. Buy the spectrum, tell everybody you are going to call it open specctrum, and allow facility owners to use it to create the dumb but well designed networks, which can be wholesaled to anybody wishing to finance the sale of handset, computers and services on the network.