Not discussing the content.
I’m discussing how the basic principal of Capitalism has failed us: Competition in a free market.
We all agree that when power is concentrated in the hands of a few, our freedoms are inevitably curtailed.
This is true, as it turns out, regarding the internet as well.
“At the heart of the problem lie a few powerful companies with enormous influence over policy making. Both the wireless and wired markets for high-speed Internet access have become heavily concentrated, and neither is subject to substantial competition nor oversight. … As a result, prices are too high and speeds too slow.” – Susan Crawford
Susan Crawford is the Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School Professor, and a former special assistant to President Obama for science, technology and innovation. Her central thesis is that if you live in the U.S.A., you’re probably paying a lot more to your ISP for inferior service when compared to other countries.
At the heart of the problem, she maintains, is the above quote. Huge cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast have no reason to to expand the infrastructure to lay down fiber. Also, Verizon and AT&T have abandoned fiber in favor of LTE. This will limit us to average speeds.
Further: The government has policies to protect and give them resources to propagate their grip on the internet service market. I wonder how those laws got written, and by whom.
“The resounding success of Google Fiber in Kansas City has already started to help this shift in expectations. People around the country are already jealous that some people have access to 1 Gbps Internet for just $70 a month, but most of us don’t.” – Andrew Couts
We need more companies and people pressuring local government to lay down fiber optic cable to provide better and faster service. The key to this is providing low interest, long term loans to allow small companies to germinate and do the things the big boys won’t.
The Connect America Fund is the way to do it. The bottle neck is the FCC and it’s allocating monies to the big internet providers which aren’t doing what’s needed. The problem is the laws which constrain the type of company eligible for the funds. They need change. If that happens, the CAF money can get many more players into the action. Competition. It works.
There are many (Like Steve Largent CEO of CTIA, the Wireless Association) who say, “The service you’re getting by existing cable and LTE are just fine. There is no problem.”
Reminds me of truly self serving statements. If you were the fox, would you tell the farmer about the hole in the wire fence?
How can anyone argue against improving our infrastructure? Like this:
Their argument is basically, the status quo is just fine, you’re getting what you paid for. No reason to expect more or better and no reason for us to improve.
Really? If that weren’t absurd enough, then how about this:
“Take a look at your most recent Internet service bill, and think about the fact that people in Hong Kong can get a 500Mbps symmetric fiber connection for just $25 per month, and tell me you’re happy with the way things are.” – ibid
Why am I reminded of what happened with Ma Bell?
Just as “too big to fail” needs to be fixed, so does this.
Source:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/opinion/its-time-to-get-angry-about-your-crappy-internet-service/
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/opinion/how-to-get-high-speed-internet-to-all-americans.html?_r=0