DATA PRICES
Best way for the state to deal with spectrum is to get out of the way
For the internet of things to be of benefit to all, the ingenuity and capital of private enterprise will be required, writes Leon Louw
Data must fall. Not because regulators and do-gooders say so, but because of "market forces". That mobile data charges "must fall" is as inevitable as rivers running downhill. Unless regulators and activists get involved. If their policies are implemented, grubby little hands will slow the rate at which charges fall, or stop them falling altogether. The degree of policy bad faith was revealed on Friday when an absurdly brief one month was allowed for comment on the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill before Parliament. Virtually no one knows about it or comprehends how severely it will affect them personally. Are the data deities behind the bill just silly or driven by perverse interests? To begin with, too many are involved. Their left hand does not know what their other left hand is doing. Who do you think should regulate telecommunications and mobile charges? Parliament? The Treasury? The Department of Communications? The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services?...
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