[IP] Re: $Multi-billion Broadband stimulus decisions imminent

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed@reed.com>
Date: January 13, 2009 10:43:53 AM EST
To: dave@farber.net
Cc: ip <ip@v2.listbox.com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:  $Multi-billion Broadband stimulus decisions  
imminent

When I started on the TAC a few years ago, it was explained to me that  
the reason so few senior and experienced technical people were engaged  
with FCC policies was mostly this: the senior technical people in the  
field all get most of their paycheck from companies who have an  
interest in the outcome.

That logic makes little sense to me as logic, but I suspect it is true.

I think that what lurks under the surface is the idea that technical  
people are (witting or unwitting) shills for their employers.  Of  
course, one might wonder about current and former lawyers for  
companies, and economists working for or planning to work for think  
tanks that are funded by communications companies.

But us technical folks are apparently viewed as more corruptible than  
lawyers or economists by mere employment.  ANd therefore more likely  
to spin things to make their employers' businesses more profitable.

I doubt this is true, and I would point out that most technical folks  
at least have some objective criteria about which they argue (physical  
laws, testable equipment, ...) and most will respond to facts, having  
been trained to do so as realist engineers.

But nevertheless, there is a view of technically competent people as  
"propellerheads" who cannot be trusted to lead in the policy arena.   
Perhaps because we don't play golf with the preppies as much as we  
should???

Maybe it's the opposite: maybe "corruptible" people are easier to do  
business with.  We techies get cranky about getting the facts right.

David Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: "(Mr) Lyn R Kennedy" <lrkn@sbcglobal.net>
> Date: January 13, 2009 9:23:09 AM EST
> To: David Farber <dave@farber.net>
> Subject: Re: [IP] $Multi-billion Broadband stimulus decisions imminent
>
> On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 07:20:50PM -0500, David Farber wrote:
> > "The team is mostly policy people and extraordinarily capable but
> > mostly non-technical."  WHY?? The best way of solving this is to have
> > highly technical people included who can say, as I said often at the
> > FCC, as Chief Technologist,   to pleadings by companies to the
> > Chairman,  "you are not telling it correctly? "
>
> Unfortunately, this is true also in the emergency communications area.
> Police, fire, EMS, and OEP people are being saddled with radio systems
> designed by salesmen and approved by politicians, neither with real
> expertise in critical systems.
>
> The E-911 systems are also seriously deficient for similar reasons.
>
>
> --
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> | 73,            E-mail       |  
> lrkn@sbcglobal.net                      |
> | Lyn Kennedy                  
> |                                         |
> | K5QWB          ICBM         | 32.5 North 96.9  
> West                    |
> ---Livin' on an information FARM road a few miles off the  
> superhighway---
>
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------




-------------------------------------------