[wsfii-discuss] Do your country's Telco Regs help or hinder community networks?

[Patrice Riemens]

More 'gratuitous input' .... ;-)

Maybe, as 'F/OSSopher' ;-), I may add that one should always keep the 
'bottom line' in mind: in the type of fundamentalist marketism (aka 'the 
One-Idea System') we are living is, any activity that is not priced, 
actually any activity that is not undertaken for profit, is basically 
illegitimate and possibly illegal ("If the market is the law, anything 
outside the market is against the law" - Alain Minc, French 'public 
intellectual' - who approves of it btw). This mechanism, which translates 
itself most tellingly in legislation and regulation, operates largely by 
default (no wonder politicians exhort voluntarism, community building, etc 
etc in their public pronouncement) - and escapes attention.

I am saying this not to make some foggy philosophical/ideological point, 
but in order to caution people against unwaranted surprises and 
desilusionment. I am also not saying this to discourage initiatives. Just 
be aware ("a man worned is worth two" is another French proverb).

cheers - and make success! 
patrizio and Diiiinooos! 


On Mon, Mar 19, 2007 at 05:58:12AM +0000, Vickram Crishna wrote:
> While it seems to me that to a large extent the
> Australian regulations regarding carrier services are
> laid out to specifically support providers of
> commercial services, they do seem to have a window for
> non-commercial activities. 

(...)