Scarcity declared dead
Posted by Richard on April 13, 2005
I guess I missed the announcement on the Nightly News and the headlines in the papers: the FCC has conceded that "the Scarcity Rationale for regulating traditional broadcasting is no longer valid." And none of the alternative rationales for regulation hold up, either.
Adam Thierer at Technology Liberation Front had the story back on March 17. He links to and summarizes the "stunning new white paper" (PDF here) by FCC attorney John Beresford.
OK, technically, this isn’t the official position of the FCC: "The views and professional opinions … are those of the author, or authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of…" blah blah blah
Nonetheless, in a Republican administration full of "hard-right ideologues," as the left keeps screaming, shouldn’t someone at the FCC now be preparing a transition plan for implementing spectrum allocation via property rights and dismantling the FCC? Hmm?
I guess I shouldn’t hold my breath.
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