15 Feb
2015
15 Feb
'15
3:18 a.m.
On 2015-Feb-14, at 4:30 PM, Peter Corlett wrote:
On Sun, Feb 15, 2015 at 09:38:31AM +1000, Tom Sparks
wrote:
[...]
I have a recollection from the 1980's when I was 'on the inside' working on
email R&D, as email started to appear on the horizon to those outside computing,
Canada Post - seeing the writing on the wall - tried to get some legislation passed that
would give it a monopoly.
The legislation was worded so broadly it would have covered two people speaking to each
other.
in my "What If" world the postal office
network owned the telegraph network
In the UK, that was indeed the case. In a fine bit of legal wrangling, it was
argued that the GPO's monopoly on the postal service extended to the other
peer-to-peer communications systems such as the telegraph and telephone as they
were invented.
Had the GPO not had the telephone service rebranded BT and privatised in the
1980s, it would no doubt be claiming monopoly rights over Internet access as
well. As it is, BT still pretty much control the market.