The 4 D’s of Incument Telco Public Policy
The Blandin on Broadband blog has an informative post by Gary Fields called The 4 D’s of Incumbent Telco Public Policy. Gary writes,
Just recently I had the opportunity to participate in the State of Minnesota Ultra High Speed Broadband Task Force, a public policy effort similar to my earlier efforts, but with more official State authority and legislation behind it. I was shocked to see the same strategies and tactics utilized by the provider representatives. At the same time, I have observed actions conducted by the FCC and recognize the same influences. To help others engaged in these important public policy discussions I decided to prepare a summary of the tactics deployed by providers to help facilitate a more constructive effort. With perseverance and diligence we may yet reclaim our global leadership role in telecommunications service and reap the economic benefits that position will bring.
I laughed when I read this post because while the four “D” words are so common in telecommunications (aka telco, telecom) policy, they also work on so many levels for so many people! For example, in a Dilbert world you’d see the four “D” tactics being used to help ineffective people protect their jobs. That said, there are a few more “D” words that are useful in these conversations.
The real lesson here is that if you see anyone engaged in tactics centered around these four “D” words, recognize and understand that these are diversion tactics. Their intent to distract does not diminish your priorities. You may need to respond by being more direct with your questions and needs. This is especially true for telecom policy these days.