Hey all! I've been doing some writing about the Political Economy of Web 2.0 and happened across this recent piece by one of the giants of Network political economy, Yochai Benkler: http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/04/recovery_prescription_build_... In it, he calls for a massive public program to build communications infrastructure in the United States. He makes a reference near the beginning of the piece to Japan, where 100 Mbit connections to the home have apparently been common place for awhile now. Here's my question. The basic premise of Benkler's thought is that widespread cheap computational power and bandwidth should lead to a decentralized network full of horizontally collaborating smallholders. Is this what has happened in Japan? Does anyone know of any work on the current state of the Internet there that might address this question? Is Japan a FOSS paradise? Or have the forces Nicholas Carr describes in his "Big Switch" lead to greater centralization? The Japanese case seems like it ought to provide some great evidence on this one way or another, but I never see any referenced. Can anyone get me started? Thanks. - Andy -- - Andrew Famiglietti PhD Candidate Bowling Green State University Bowling Green Ohio