Reviews:
 ·Windstream
| reply to Somnambul33t
Re: Finally I would argue that physical connections to the home through the public right-of-way *is* a natural monopoly, regardless of whether we "take the government out of it" at this point. The only reason we have a duopoly situation is that cable TV was originally given a government monopoly (usually at the local level) on that service, keeping the phone company out. Only after the cable companies had established themselves in most places was there a push for any openness in the process, but by then the natural monopoly barriers are too high for another entrant to lay their own infrastructure (in any meaningful way - I realize that there are small areas of overbuild scattered around.)
Unless there is a municipally owned power company (like LUS, Jackson Energy, Wilson, NC, etc...) with its own existing infrastructure, the monopoly/duopoly will stand unchallenged. Public power utilities with shareholders to appease will not generally enter that market (and the legal hornet's nest from the duopoly - See LUS for an example), content to remain with their guaranteed rates of return and predictable dividends.
If we want a truly national broadband policy, we have to recognize that the existing "private" infrastructure was largely created under a government monopoly umbrella, and treat it accordingly. IMO, the local loop needs to be separated (by forced divestiture, if necessary) from the service provisioned on the loop, regulated as a monopoly with fixed rate of return, and the national policy should to be to improve the loop with fiber everywhere - rural, urban, small islands in the Aleutians, etc...
Without captive loop subscribers and with common carriage rates for all competitors, the private marketplace for services should explode nearly everywhere. |
| Yay! Someone finally gets it. I've been saying this for years.
We need a separate heavily regulated last mile provider(s). Then you will see lots of ISPs offering service to those people over the same lines. At that point we can finally have a true vibrant capitalistic ISP market place. |
