Bizzy’s AM Coffee Biz-Econ Links (031706)

Free Links:

• The “Premium Internet” Controversy Is Growing. This is also known as the “net neutrality” debate. “Net neutrals” believe that once you’ve decided what level of service you want and have paid your monthly fee for the service, that’s it. The telcos, and the cable companies (though they are much quieter about it), want to be able to charge for specialized higher bandwidth services. This is going to be a tough one to sort out, based on two articles I read about a week ago that got lost in the “my browser froze and purged history” ether. One supported the free-marketeer in me, and said that allocating more bandwith to people willing to pay more is will encourage network expansion and speed. But my fairness alter ego spoke up after a column writer noted that the telcos promised $200 billion of network improvements (i.e., roughly $2,000 per household) and universal network access in the negotiations that led to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and didn’t deliver. Now, having welched on that deal, they want the benefits of differential services. Some might say that’s the broken promises are history and we should only look forward, but it still grates.
• Unfortunately, As Every Skeptic Predicted — The Underground Railroad National Freedom Center in Cincinnati, seen by some as an artificial palliative to reduce racial tensions after the Spring 2001 inner-city riots, says it needs $2 million to $3 million a year of public funding to stay open.
• Right Angle Blog notes that the NASDAQ has been on a quiet roll:

  

  This monthly NASDAQ interactive Table , set up to go back to 2000 is even more interesting. Some points I didn’t realize from that table:
  – The NASDAQ has almost doubled from its low point in September-October 2002.
  – It lost 1778 points, a 40% hit from September 2000 to December 2000, the last four full months of the previous administration.
  – It is within striking distance of where it was when Bush took office.
  – It is up about 50% from when the first Bush budget took effect in the beginning of October 2001.