Mediacom, our local government approved “public-private partnership” cable monopoly sent out a letter encouraging its customers to participate in a broadband performance test. One of our discerning contributing editors noticed the “no cost” obfuscation and then went to the FCC Web site, linked by Mediacom, to investigate further. Apparently the government, the testing company, and Mediacom have gotten together and figured out a way to provide proverbial free lunches. The pertinent parts of both items are set forth in italics. Our editor’s cranky comments follow.
Project to Measure American Broadband Performance.
Dear Mediacom customer,
As part of the National Broadband plan, the FCC has begun a project to establish a standard test for measuring broadband performance. This test will cover every aspect of an Internet connection, from the speed of downloading a large file to the quality of video streaming or making a VOIP call. The purpose of the project is to provide consumers with much more information about actual American broadband performance.
As one of the leading service providers in the United States, Mediacom Communications is working with the FCC to ensure that the performance measurement tests are as comprehensive and accurate as possible.
We are reaching out to you, because the FCC is looking for volunteers to help in the project. If you’re interested in the speed of your Internet connection, please visit the FCC sign-up page at www.testmyisp.com. If selected by the FCC, SamKnows, the company selected by the FCC to conduct the test, will provide a new NETGEAR router enabled with the SamKnows performance measurement software.
And from the FCC Web site”
Why sign up?
Since 2008 SamKnows has been working with consumers, academics, industry and governments to build the much-needed global standard for Internet performance measurement.
Sign-up here to contribute to this global initiative, test Singaporean broadband and put your own ISP to the test. By joining the SamKnows community, each volunteer gets a free SamKnows measurement box which runs a series of tests to accurately measure home internet performance.
So the kind, wonderful government wants to “give” me a router. Where does the government get the money to “give” me a router in the first place? Will the government eventually “require” us to use their “free” routers, just as the kind wonderful government would like to require all of us to have GPS enabled reporting boxes installed in our cars? What would the kind, wonderful government like to do with all of the information obtained from you, simply by replacing your router with theirs? Hmmmm…
I tend to view our kind, wonderful government as a genie in a bottle. It is practically impossible to stuff the government genie back into the bottle once it is out. Government “plans” such as “health care” may seem nice and innocent at first, but we are giving flawed humans more and more power to control our lives. Did the Soviets secure complete control over their population all at once, or did they enact increasingly draconian measures over time? Are we becoming the proverbial “frog in the pot of water”?
I have become skeptical of the insidious nature of today’s modern progressive government that uses every excuse to control our lives. Taken to it’s logical extreme, what are the possible eventual ramifications of the routers that provide feedback to the government? Why would anyone really want this? I foresee government warehouses full of unused routers, just like the presidential dollars.
DJB
