Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
However if you are referring to the overall health of the economy, no doubt that is going down the drain. However again if you have a solid business and spend time marketing and don't have a ton of debt or expenses you can probably ride this out without too much pain.
new data lines being run, fiber optics upgrades, changes in codes to allow for upgrades
I don't think this is correct. Most telecom companies or ISPs are private businesses and therefore must raise their own cash, not tax payer dollars, to invest in new lines. In my area we have one large telecom company and all the fiber they have laid is completely self funded or funded by selling bonds in the market to finance the project.
What I am not sure about is how much, if any, subsidies or tax breaks telecoms get for expanding services into a new area from the government. Even if the financial sector turns into slag I doubt those tax cuts will go away. There are lobbyists and bribes to politicians that will see to the continuation of any tax subsidies.
That way, you may receive service from any provider in your area and avoid being held hostage by the owner of the lines
You mean the government actually compensates a business for an adverse regulation...fat chance. The changes in the communication regulations took care of the "monopolies" but actually that just fixed an earlier government created problem. I doubt they received any type of compensation for this change in regulation, that would be totally out of character for government. They would rather just change the regulations and give earmarks to campaign donors
You mean the government actually compensates a business for an adverse regulation
I did not mean compensation; sorry for the confusion. More that the infrastucture involved was more like a highway -- everyone benefits, but no individual is willing to shoulder the cost. They are publicly consumed goods with the service provider acting as a free-rider. Did Comcast and Adelphia bury cables in my neighborhood? Or was that done by the developer? How can I get one ISP and my neighbor use another on the same cables? Is Comcast actually nice enough to allow Adelphia to use their lines?
I honestly don't have the answers here...just assuming that the government was some how involved as with water and electricity. I.E. Even if you receive power/water from a private company, the grid is publicly produced and owned...
just assuming that the government was some how involved as with water and electricity
You are correct the government is definitely involved. In the case of electricity it is a heavily regulated industry, but all the lines that carry the power are "owned" by the electric company. However they can't really do what they want with them because of the heavy regulation which controls price, delivery and a host of other factors. Water (at least in my part of the country) is completely government controlled and set up... who makes up these rules?
The infrastructure for ISPs is also privately owned, but again is heavily regulated by government which will control taxes, prices, and other items that will have an impact on the industry.
Many would argue that the current Wall Street mess is a result of regulation and government meddling and others will tell you there wasn't enough regulation and that is what caused the mess. What impact any of this will have on ISP growth and expansion is probably too early to tell at this point since raising money for private firms to expand may be challenging for the next few years.
