As the anniversary of my full 8th year actively in the wireless internet business is here, I decided to make some comments. My interest in wireless internet, and actual efforts to actually start doing it are now 14 years old. Yes, really, it was that long ago. And I'm feeling much older these days.
My first internet venture failed quite spectacularly. I think I made every mistake one could make, and didn't learn every lesson there was to learn, either. But it did help, as I did not repeat a bunch of things that were fatal. The most important one was to not start with vastly larger bills than your revenue. Growth doesn't always come in rapid fashion. And there's a cost to all growth. Know before you make that leap, what the consequences will be. Over the last few years, I've been known to get what some people call "political". Perhaps it is, I say it isn't. It's just common sense business principles. It was one of my first lessons - learn how to preserve your future flexibility, because THINGS CHANGE. That, too, was one of my first mistakes. I had no alternatives, really, to travelling down the road I started on, which was a seriously bad mistake. That ability to be flexible, to violate the "rules" of internet by wire, is what created the WISP business in the first place, and yet, it's one of the things that's been done the most damage to, and faces the largest threats in the future. This post is probably my last, as it concerns things WISPA. I have given up on WISPA completely. Mostly for the reasons above. While WISPA was being formed, I had the self-generated illusion that fellow WISPS's would be all about getting, expanding, and maintaining the freedom to be in business. We're notorious for being rogues, cowboys, unconventional, and extremely individualistic. It would have never occurred to me that one or more founders of WISPA would go to the FCC and tell them that they should create reporting mandates and then encourage regulation of our industry. My shock when I learned that was a kind of "rock your world" kind of thing. And anger. Serious anger. How dare people undertake to put us under the thumb of the utterly incompetent idiots in Washington DC? If you want to live that way, go live some place like that, don't undertake to force it upon me. That's the essence of the American attitude, history, and the very thing that built this country. Over the years, I've come to realize that unlike me, few of our industry have any such lesson learned. The idea of getting free money or loans or other favors in the form of money from government or government actions has lured them into becoming just another faction of the crony capitalism that has all but destroyed our nation's economy, currency, and threatens to finish the job, rapid-fire. WISPA certainly doesn't seem to have any interest in telling Washington DC to go pound sand, and do what is the morally, economically, and Constitutionally right and proper thing. Leave us the HELL ALONE! Stop pretending that DC is the source of goodness, and stop pretending that they have even an IOTA of the answers for what ails the country and how to supply our needs. They do not. I won't waste your time with explanations of what I want, after all, either you're in agreement, or else your only interest is in creating false portrayals to attack me personally, calling me an "anti-government nut" or any of 100 other senseless phrases. Some of you I've gotten to know a bit over the years, and I have no idea if any of you are on this list anymore. Maybe someone will post this where everyone can read it if they want. Why we can't advocate for economic and business operation freedom anymore is completely beyond my comprehension. Especially since we're supposed be about business, a business which exists solely because of that amazing concept of economic and personal liberty otherwise known as capitalism - or free enterprise - take your pick. It offends too many, and those who it doesn't are too too timid to stand for what they think in the presence of the socialist bullies. It's my wish and my prayer as well, that all of you have a good life, a prosperous future, health, and happiness. But I hold out little hope, long term. Unless things change, we're all going away, our plans and enterprises massacred by the attitude that all our needs are merely a utilitarian function of government. Still, I hope the best for all - and always have and always will. Mark ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Neofast, Inc, Making internet easy 541-969-8200 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
_______________________________________________ Wireless mailing list Wireless@wispa.org http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless
