Verizon Again Confirms FiOS Expansion is Over → Re: "Wall Street punished us for investing in FIOS."

That's good, but I'd take it several steps further....regulate it as a utililty. Install federal, or local pucs to regulate this utility per region. Define a cap as a price forcing the isps to justify cap range for in the given context of it's technology ( i.e. Fios vs Docsis 3). Extend this to wireless as well. All Pucs are to be made up of engineers with zero political affiliation. Also forcing isps to justify all price increases...not to just placate Wall Street. Now some will argue that this would be a socialist gov't take over, well...I hope you use that same argument for those that monitor communications.

Remember...if it's got a meter, it's a utility

We did it with the interstates, why not do the same with something as crucial as our data networks...

I noticed the Aussies are rolling out a national wholesale FTTH network. That way their government owns and control the underlying infrastructure, while much like a road, any number of businesses can utilize it and resell their services over it.

Once again government will have managed to create a significantly more competitive market than the private sector alone; which in reality, contrary to GOP rhetoric, for obvious reasons hates competition.

The fact is that the private sector does not have the stomach for long-term investments mandatory for projects like this.

This quarterly-driven outlook is also why the world has significantly overtaken us in infrastructure and large scale projects and quite frankly it's a weakness that countries like China are exploiting.

This private only policy post Reagan has failed America in every aspect.

No thank you. I don't want to live in a country where the government can control Internet traffic. Look at Middle Eastern countries where the government can and does block or turn off Internet Access.

Heck, look at the SOPA/PIPA acts and tell me you want the US Government regulating things.

No F-ing way.

While I would personally like to see some sort of effort to expand our broadband capabilities, I too have a strong distrust in having the government do it.

Our government has proven itself time and time again to be careless of our privacy and wasteful of our dollars

We need a solution but I just don't believe having the government implement and control it is an appropriate one.

Please...don't confuse our current gov't with effective gov't...if effective gov't had been in place SOPA/PIPA would have never reached the floor, and a law enforcement arm of the federal gov't (I.C.E) wouldn't be in servitude of the MPAA/RIAA.
And as far as controling Internet traffic, the gov't already monitors all traffic, outsources communication monitoring to ATT, Verizon, and others, and allows companies to datamine all of your personal information for the purpose of building aggregate personal profiles so you can be more efficiently advertised to. That's okay huh?

because the PUCs already are up the asses of ATT and Verizon. In Ohio they managed to get the PUC to strip away the Minm. Telephone Standards as long as a customer has "bundled services"- ie; long distance discounts, Internet, etc.

And when the Gov't starts managing the networks; we'll have our wonderful blogger and the rest of this following on here bitching about how the NSA is now able to obtain more and more data about you and it should be illegal. Well news flash- anything that goes over the Gov't networks; is the right of the Gov't to read, inspect and otherwise use. Gotta love the catch on that.

and the private sector does NOT want the network build any further is due to the former CEO promised up take would be higher than what it is. When actually everyone KNEW it would NOT be. Customers do NOT LIKE CHANGE. FiOS is not worth it for Internet with the higher speeds as other networks will NOT transfer you data that quick. So you pay for something you can NOT use. Pointless and waste of money.

Tin-Foil alert. First off, it's a flawed rationale, as if "the government" really wanted to block everything, private or public, it could do it anyway. For example, a government can still block a private road. These are all baseless and paranoid delusions anyway, and using the middle-east to make any point is grasping for straws.

Now back to reality. Personally, I am more concerned that we are being bent over by private monopolistic corporations, who are now colluding to further increase their own profits at our expense.

Moreover, forcing us to put up with these sub-standard products, while giving crap to those "socialist" that are beating us.

Much like roads, I'd rather have the appropriate wholesale model in place, which as aforesaid, allows a multitude of service providers to compete and sell their services over.

The profit-driven private model always fails when it comes to crucial services.

Maybe for someone out of Ohio but not for the rest of us - no offense. Then again, Ohio is the same state that doesn't want high speed public transportation either.

If those "socialists" are beating us it is mostly because they are in a growing economy as opposed to our stagnant one.

In any case, these broad anti-corporation sentiments are just as careless as the pro government as the solution sentiments. I’ve got some news for you --- its all people folks. Governments, corporations, they are all made up of many, many people. They are equally subject to the temptations of power and money (essentially the same thing).

I personally love my fios. It’s the best broadband and TV quality I’ve ever had. It’s a shame that Verizon has abandoned it. And if there is possibility they have colluded with the cable providers then the FCC should take a serious look. But make no mistake, if wall street wasn’t ready to support financing the billions it would take to continue the fios build out then that’s just the facts.

FIOS is an outstanding service. Nearly everyone I know has transferred to it. The performance and quality are a huge improvement over Time Warner.