Revolution vs. The Master Switch

Many well educated, technologically savvy people make attempts at describing the times we live in as an information “revolution”. Whether it is information technology, journalism, social networks or communication, they argue that new media is “revolutionary” and something human kind has never witnessed before. In Tim Wu’s book the The Master Switch, he makes the strong argument that “[h]istory shows a typical progression of information technologies, from somebody’s hobby to somebody’s industry; from jury-rigged contraption to slick production marvel; from a freely accessible channel to one strictly controlled by a single corporation or cartel — from open to closed system.” This key point, described by Wu as “the cycle” maybe a revolving system from open to closed systems however there is no real “revolution”, there are only battles.

The cycle of information technologies and the way they are intertwined with corporate and public interests are often ignored when technologies are invented yet they provide key insights into the complexities of technological development. In his book, Wu documents the rise and fall (the cycles) of information technologies including the telephone, radio, television and finally the Internet. He charts the course of these information technologies from relatively open sectors of the economy to closed, privatized and regulated markets that are far different from those based on other commodities. As he describes the battles that take place amongst market competitors and other various market events, he continually relates them back to “the old conflict between concepts of the open system and the closed, between the forces of centralized order and those of dispersed variety.” This evidence of a cycle and at a high level a “master switch” creates a fascinating new framework in which to think about emerging technologies, corporate mergers and large communication networks.

Because it was published in 2010, The Master Switch includes some very timely insights into our current state of transformation. While trying to answer the question of where the next “domineering empire” will come from he notes: “It could arise from a takeover of content by the great carriers of our time, a future whose harbinger might be the takeover of NBC-Universal by Comcast, an even vaster effort to realize what AOL Time Warner failed to be.” This takeover, now approved by the Federal Communications Commission as well as AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile appear to be strong signals that the openness of the Internet may not last.

The agreed upon acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T seems to make perfect sense when viewed through Wu’s lens. In chapter 18 “The Return of AT&T” I found a treasure trove of information regarding this proposed merger and the events that led up to it. While Wu doesn’t explicitly mention anything about T-Mobile, he clearly explains how Edward Whitacre, longtime CEO of AT&T, rebuilt the AT&T system into what it is today. By lobbying for increased competition, AT&T has managed to remove the shackles of government regulation and has regained it’s ability to eliminate or assimilate it’s competitors. Wu reveals that politicians like President Barack Obama (then Senator) opposed immunities for large corporations such as the bill that retroactively granted full immunity to AT&T and Verizon after violating spying laws in 2008, yet by tying the immunity to a national security bill, politicians feared they would be accused of things like being weak on national security or against healthy market competition if they voted against it. When we look at the acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T it seems like a logical step in Wu’s framework if we take into consideration that T-Mobile USA has been one of AT&T’s biggest competitors and that AT&T has built up some momentum in  assimilating competitors. It’s also fascinating from the standpoint of open and closed markets. If the acquisition is approved, the centralizers (AT&T, Apple & Hollywood) have one less competitor to worry about and the government has more concentrated power over information and communications.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in information technology and even more to anyone who describes our technological state of affairs as “revolutionary”. The book is thorough but easy to read and it provides a fascinating perspective with which to look at our technological future. As you can see from the following lecture, Tim Wu is very enthusiastic about communications policy and seems to have a knack for explaining key concepts in terms that are easy for the average person to understand. Nearly all of the concepts in this book including the case that the Internet is a critical, high stakes battle yet a familiar one are practical and can be applied to a wide range of technologies. They are also very helpful in that they provide context for the technological events we sometimes consider to be “revolutionary” or simply unexplainable.

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Reference:

Wu, T. (2010). The master switch (Kindle Reader).