Archives for March 2008
Recently on twitter.com/jerrybrito
- That a new album can still be considered an "import" for which I’m expected to pay $35.99(!) is insane. They’ve learned nothing. #
Public safety spectrum, here we go again
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Better late than never, here are my thoughts on the FCC’s auction for the D Block public safety band. There was only one bid for the block, Frontline Wireless to shut down, and some are even suggesting improprieties. Sadly, we’ve got a long way to go before we have an operating public safety network. Why did the D Block auction fail? I think at root the problem is that the FCC simply placed too many restrictions on the would-be licensee, and that’s something the FCC should keep in mind as it considers what to do next.
Under the D Block’s service rules the commercial licensee must come to an agreement with the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (which is the licensee for the adjacent public safety spectrum) about the details of the network to be built. If it doesn’t come to an agreement, the FCC can impose whatever requirements it sees fit on the licensee, and if the licensee surrenders its license or has it taken away, they must pay a forfeiture penalty that can run into the millions. Because there are no similar penalties for the non-profit PSST to come to agreement, this allows the PSST to basically dictate the terms of the network. Why would anyone bid for the privilege to be a part of that deal?
Sadly, Chairman Martin doesn’t seem to get this. He recently lamented the fate of the D Block:
“Did we get everything perfect in it? Obviously not because no one was willing to end up taking on that burden,” Martin conceded. “So, do I wish that someone was willing to take on that burden? Yes. And do we need to restructure it in such a way that someone is willing to take on that burden? Absolutely. But absent somebody else coming up with some idea to solve this, this is the only way to solve what’s really a public-safety crisis.”
Instead of expecting some selfless corporation to “take on the burden” of such a thankless deal, why not try instead to create a license aligned with the interests of both the private sector (profit) and public safety (cheap and interoperable communications solutions)? Here’s my recipe:
- Get rid of the PSST, a bureaucracy more than prone to capture that will do nothing but hold a commercial licensee hostage.
- Take the spectrum now held by the PSST and combine it with the D Block. Create two national licenses on the combined spectrum so as to inject competition and avoid a monopoly provider.
- Place public safety obligations on each of those licenses but allow the licensees to lease excess capacity. What sort of obligations? Obviously public safety should have priority, and leased access would only be secondary. Beyond that, the FCC could include minimum performance standards in the licenses to ensure that the networks are built to public safety standards without having to prescribe specific technologies or methods.
- Auction the licenses without reserve prices.
There are no doubt more than a few hurdles for such a plan to overcome, but I think it makes sense to allow market forces develop public safety networks. I’d love to hear any critiques of this idea. No doubt I’ll be submitting a comment to the inevitable rulemaking on this issue and it would help me to figure out the weaknesses of this scheme.
Recently on twitter.com/jerrybrito
- Social obligations are waking death. #
- Just got tickets to Iron Maiden on Jun. 18! Brutal! #
- Enjoying a beer at Le Bar after the kite festival. #
- I wish flight suits were more generally accepted attire. #
Recently on twitter.com/jerrybrito
- The monthly combined birthday party has been cancelled according to a staff-wide email. Do they really think I’ll fall for that and come in? #
- Does the Comcast-BitTorrent Inc. deal matter? http://xrl.us/bijod What’s been blocked is the BT protocol, not BT Inc. So what’s this about? #
So we need a president who can restore our confidence, a president who is ready to confront complex economic problems with comprehensive solutions, a president who will act at the first signs of trouble, working with experts to identify the problem, with agencies to adapt regulations, with Congress to pass necessary legislation, working to prevent crises rather than just reacting too little too late. We need a president who is ready on day one to be Commander-in-Chief of our economy.I can see Gene one the ground, flopping like an epileptic and foaming at the mouth.
Recently on twitter.com/jerrybrito
- having the best birthday ever #
- @jomc we are at nicechat.info and thanks for the pointer to muxtape #
- @maisnon is high #
Recently on twitter.com/jerrybrito
- The new episode of In Conversation is up. It features famed internet enthusiast @binarybits (Tim Lee) Check it out. http://xrl.us/bh7v5 #
- Sort of congrats @binarybits ! #
- Welcome @drewperraut ! The revolution continues! #
- @cordblomquist you have to follow good people, and more than 8. I suggest @hotdogsladies and @jdickerson. #
- @psuderman tell james to get on twitter - network effects now! #
Do you know about nicechat.info?
In case you don’t know, I bifurcate my online output. While this is my personal website, I post the really personal stuff (photos, videos, wacky YouTube memes) at nicechat.info, my tumblelog with Kathleen. I need to figure out a better way to point to that site from here since I don’t think that content belongs here (do you?).Here’s something I just posted. It’s a video of a couple of Flickr sets I recently uploaded. It’s made with an amazing tool called Animoto. Very cool. I might spring for the paid version.
Recently on twitter.com/jerrybrito
- Waiting with bated breath for @cordblomquist to record our nominally weekly podcast. Anyone want to join us? #
Scoble argues that the “secret to Twitter isn’t how many followers you have, but how many people you are following.” I’m not sure there’s any secret to Twitter and I’m not sure it’s an either or proposition. Having lots of followers is valuable because you can crowdsource. Chek out Merlin asking for video help. Calacanis calls it “the world’s greatest focus group.” I get what Scoble means, but I’m afraid of the signal to noise ration would be weak. By his rationale he should give away an Air to get to top of this list.
Just discovered dctechevents.com. Very neat. (You bet I’ll be at Podcamp DC.) Wish it had an iCal feed (though I made one by running it through Google). Would also benefit from more tech policy events, but that’s something we can all fix by suggesting events.
You must go right now and watch It’s Raining McCain. I don’t know what’s more petrifying, his disembodied head or when the lead girl washes her face with him.
Me on the Cato Daily Podcast
I totally forgot about this, but last Friday I was featured on the Cato Daily Podcast. Marking Sunshine Week, I spoke about online transparency. You can grab the MP3 or take a listen here:Recently on twitter.com/jerrybrito
- Neither Whole Foods nor Giant sell lard. Un-friggin-believable. #
- @erdoland Never been there, but last weekend saw a "Hot Brats To Go" sign on Lee HIghway. Report back if you go. http://tinyurl.com/ywfjby #
Recently on twitter.com/jerrybrito
- Violin-and-cello rock is so wrong. #
- Night on the town. First Japanese then The Cribs at the Black Cat. #
- @jomc Have you been watching Sideways? #
More Twitter talk
I’m seeing more and more people joining Twitter and I thought I’d share a few thoughts about it. My initial reaction to Twitter was skepticism, but I became a convert after I subscribed to Clay Shirky’s feed and received a tweet from him a couple hours later about his talk in D.C. that I would have never known about. That was useful, and since then I’ve found Twitter more and more useful.First of, I’d like to explain what it is for the sake of those who don’t know. I’ll do so by way of video:
The first thing to note is that Twitter is a classic example of network effects because its usefulness increases relative to the number of users on it. Its usefulness also increases exponentially when people you know and care about make there way onto it. The network seems to be growing in concentric circles and while it’s been dominated by the elite digerati in Silicon Valley so far, it seems to be making its way to DC now.
The video presents Twitter as a way to let people know what you’re doing at the moment. In fact, Twitter itself suggests that you use the service to answer the question, “What are you doing?” But if we took that literally, like some do, Twitter would truly be dull: “Going to the bank,” “Eating ice cream,” “Going to sleep.” Alex King suggests that the “what are you doing” question be replaced with the imperative, “Say something interesting.” In practice that’s what most people have done.
My friend Julian Sanchez uses Twitter mostly to announce at which bar he is currently so that anyone nearby who gets his tweet on a mobile phone can drop in an join him for a drink. I’m sure people join him who otherwise wouldn’t have. Blogger Robert Scoble uses it to crowdsource. Recently he was scheduled to interview the CFO of Amazon on stage before a conference. He’s got about 13,000 people in his network and he asked them what he should ask the CFO. He got back many insightful questions he would never have thought up himself. (As an aside, I’m curious if you know of other innovative uses. Post in the comments.)
Ultimately the best thing about Twitter is that it’s a different experience for each user. You only see the tweets of the people you follow. If someone’s not your cup of tea, you can silently boot them. The result is a stream of interesting stuff that only gets more useful as more people you know get on it. In the short while I’ve been on it I’ve been pointed to more interesting article, sites, and videos than I could have imagined. Give it a whirl… and follow me!
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This is the personal site of Jerry Brito, a lawyer and writer in Washington, D.C. He’s an academic researcher and the creator of Unclutterer and several other blogs. More »
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