MOON SHOT

It is too often said, “If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we [insert pet peeve]?” It's a stupid analogy because every problem is distinct and requires a unique solution. But with a little modification, it might make sense. Consider telecom: Everyone from Tauzin to the technician wants to fix what's wrong with the business, even though much of it ain't broken. There's this idea floating around called the next-generation network. It's hailed as the de facto solution to what ails the industry. But there are obstacles to overcome — mostly economic — and priorities to sort out. The world is in turmoil. The last real turmoil in this country was just beginning to boil when Apollo 11 got to the drawing board. It was spilling over in July 1969 even as Neil Armstrong took his one small step/giant leap. America had a vision back then. The powers-that-be conceived it, resolved to do it and realized it despite the chaos and uncertainty of the time. So the question for telecom is: “If we could put a man on the moon with everything else that was going on at that time, then why can't the U.S. win the race to deploy the next-generation network, despite the turmoil now?” The '60s gave us a space race. Today, we have a communications race, and we seem content to let Europe and Asia take the lead. Everyone remembers Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon. How many remember that Buzz Aldrin was second?