The so-called Cloud is really just someone else’s computer. I realized this thanks to what may be the most educational bumper sticker of all time. While I understand computers, data, and much of the technological mechanics that run the internet, discussion about the Cloud had sold me an image, and I had allowed it to. I had stopped thinking about the actual mechanics of the internet and was living the dream.
Turns out that the dram, like many movie plots, is really a circus of technology instead of a fluffy amorphous cloud.
As our lives become more and more connected, they require more and more infrastructure. As this infrastructure continues to develop and grow, so does the money at stake. And, as the money at stake continues to grow, the cronyism continues to grow too.
Right now, one of those crony fights is over C-Band.
I wrote about the fight earlier this year, but C-Band is the spectrum range that fits almost everything the Federal Communications Commission is looking at for 5G deployment: It is a large chunk of spectrum, and it fits the data needs of 5G. Almost everyone seems to be in agreement that C-Band is the way to go, but where the disagreement starts is how the FCC should mete out that spectrum.
Should the FCC hand it out like the queen hands out knighthoods? Or, should the FCC open it up to an auction as they do with the rest of their spectrum?
The two sides here are interesting. On one side is a coalition of foreign companies asking the FCC to just hand over the spectrum to them, and in return they are promising to divvy it up among other companies for a fee and are promising some upgrades to the system. On the other side are U.S. companies that just want to duke it out the capitalist way — at an auction.
Admittedly, the auction will be run by the government, but at least that is more free market than the government just handing it out to the closest crony. With something such as spectrum, there is real cause for concern about a tragedy of the commons, so a government auction makes sense.
Because of the importance of quick action (5G is already deploying) the FCC needs to act soon, and it looks like they are likely to make their decision in November. That has sparked a few letters from Congress and a flurry of action from the outside in recent months.
When relying on the government not to fold to cronyism, I usually prepare myself for the worst. However, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has done an amazing job of both leading the FCC and driving it in a free market direction. I don’t see him taking the cronies at their word. Instead, I think he’ll stand up to the cronies and pursue the right free market policy, which is also the best thing for the future of connectivity.
The internet of things isn’t a bunch of tubes, but it is a mess of wires, boards, regulations, and now spectrum. The best way for these to be divided up is to let the companies fight over them with their pocketbooks instead of their lobbyists. Either way, the Cloud is still someone else’s computer and cronies are still around. If we acknowledge those things, then we can move forward in the most efficient and effective way.
Charles Sauer (@CharlesSauer) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner‘s Beltway Confidential blog. He is president of the Market Institute and previously worked on Capitol Hill, for a governor, and for an academic think tank.
