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Elbonia | Yes, 'utility' is the right category Internet is not as basic as water, sewer, electricity, or garbage collection, simply because those utilities are more often needed for health and safety. Like phone service and other telecommunications, however, it does fit the category in a more general sense, in that it is one of the external services that most households require, relies at least in part on public infrastructure, and can be provided on a mass basis for a relatively low monthly rate.
Utilities are not all equally essential, nor is there an objective dividing line. People lived without indoor plumbing for most of mankind's history, and many still do, and it's possible to be healthy and safe without it. The concept of a utility is also relative to social norms. E.g., having a credit card is not required by law or needed for survival, but it is a requirement of participation in middle-class life in U.S. society today.
It's also vital to democracy, education and social cohesion that the whole population have easy access to news, reference information and communication, and internet is fast becoming our most important means of such access.
The network neutrality debate makes clear that "regulated utility" is the most appropriate paradigm for internet. The right model is a government utility maintaining the "last mile", with large numbers of private providers competing to provide service to each endpoint.
This model would assure both network neutrality and low prices. It would finally make the benefits of unlimited communication more nearly universal. It would benefit the whole society economically and socially far more than the present private-only model. |
