New UK Wireless Network Tax May Hamper Internet Rollout

Mark.JUK writes "The Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which compiles and maintains business rating and council tax valuation lists for England and Wales, is reportedly getting ready to impose business rates (tax) upon UK wireless networks regardless of their status. The move has raised concern because many community driven wireless broadband (Wi-Fi , WiMAX) ISPs, which often exist in locations where the big players have failed to deliver adequate services (remote and rural areas), operate off some already very thin margins."

Re:Funny thing about those margins

[mh1997]

A boat floating in a harbor has some percentage of its total mass below the water. When the tide comes in, the boat rises up. When the tide goes out, the boat sinks back down. But there is no change in the amount of boat mass above and below the water! The only thing that affects whether the boat goes deeper into the water or not is if additional mass is added, removed, or a hole is punched in the bottom. Governments are well known for punching holes into the titanics of industry, though.

No, it's more like a car and the ISPs are the air pressure in the tire. As long as the tax lets out the same air pressure on all tires everything is ok, until they go flat and then the economy (the car body) can't move forward no matter how much gas (stimulus) you add to the tank (the bank accounts of politicians).

A Solution!!

[Linker3000]

Later in the original article, they call this a "Wireless Window Tax*" so the solution's simple - just switch to Linux!

L3K

*Yeah, yeah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_tax [wikipedia.org]