Reviews:
 ·Comcast
| [General] Should the internet be a Regulated utility? Given that internet access is now almost a fundamental requirement to exist in the US, should we consider making it a regulated utility? The objective of providing the fastest, most secure connections at the lowest prices for everyone (old Ma Bell model) would be the goal. There may be security/big brother issues but I don't think they will be much worse than what we have now. Shouldn't everyone have equal access to the same speed at the same (low) price?
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futuresmkt |
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 CabalPremium
join:2007-01-21
Austin, TX | reply to futuresmkt
Re: [General] Should the internet be a Regulated utility? LOL. You can't exist without the Internet?
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If you can't open it, you don't own it. |
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 nunyaWho is John Galt?Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
kudos:8
·Charter
 ·surpasshosting
 ·voip.ms
| reply to futuresmkt
Shouldn't everyone have equal access to the same speed at the same (low) price?
Not sure what this has to do with VoIP, per se, but I'll bite...
The answer is no. The Bell System, aka "Universal Service" was ruled illegal in 1982 by Judge Harold Green. In exchange for being highly regulated and providing universal service, the Bell System (and to a lesser extent other ILECs) were granted a protected monopoly status.
People didn't like this. Even though the service was reliable and innovative, people did not like being told how many phones they could have or what kind of phones they could use. People do not like 'not having a choice'.
Judge Green said, "The basic assumption of the breakup was that you couldn't have competition, fair competition, as long as there was this massive company that encompassed all areas of the country and all types of service."
"And the same theory that led to the breakup could lead one to be suspicious, at least, of the reemergence of the same monolith."
Was it stupid to break up the "Bell System"? Probably. Will we ever see anything like it again? Probably not. There's too much money to be made by too many interested parties.
While ILECs and RBOCs are still often held to provide universal service (USF), legally I can't see it holding out much longer. The cable companies get to pick and choose their customers as they please.
The utopian broadband networks often lamented on sites such as this, or tech blogs, are often huge failures.
The United States is a big place. Ever been to Texas? Montana? Alaska? We have a lot of ground to cover. It's much easier to build out a tiny country.
In the coming years, I think we'll see wireless data start to fill the "rural gap".
I don't think any man has a "right" to a service he's not willing to earn. Why should I pay for someone else' broadband? I don't want to. It's not my problem that they don't want to work, or that they want to live in B.F.E.
I disagree with your posit that broadband is a necessity. It's perfectly feasible to get along in life without it. There are still plenty of people who could give a shit less about broadband. Their numbers are dwindling, but they are still here.
I consider broadband an amenity that many, including myself, are unwilling to do without.
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If someone refers to herself / himself as a "guru", they probably aren't. |
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Mangowww.toao.net
join:2008-12-25
Alberta
kudos:11 Reviews:
·Shaw
·AcroVoice
·Anveo
·Callcentric
·callwithus
·voip.ms
·FreePhoneLine
 ·TELUS
| reply to futuresmkt
Here in Canada, we already have a fair amount of regulation, but very little enforcement. The carriers are required to provide third parties access to their infrastructure. While that sounds like a good thing, in practice you have field techs not showing up for appointments and/or leaving jobs half finished, days of downtime, and weeks/months of oversold neighbourhoods.
So regulation can be a good thing, but if it's only done half way, it will certainly have its problems. |
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nunyaWho is John Galt?Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
kudos:8 Reviews:
·Charter
·surpasshosting
·voip.ms
| "Paper CLECs" (UNE-P) are a joke. The few that are still alive probably aren't long for this world.
It's like telling a McDonald's they have to start letting Burger King use their kitchen and staff at 20% under cost.
Of course that's going to go over like a fart in church. The ILECs will be "less than enthusiastic".
Facilities based CLECs, on the other hand, are "real" competition. That's when prices really go down.
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If someone refers to herself / himself as a "guru", they probably aren't. |
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 CylonRedPremium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | reply to futuresmkt
said by futuresmkt:Given that internet access is now almost a fundamental requirement to exist in the US,\
No its not - not everyone in the US has internet at home and they still exist.
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Brian
"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain |
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 hitachi369Embrace Your RightsPremium
join:2001-10-03
Grand Rapids, MI
kudos:4
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| said by CylonRed:said by futuresmkt:Given that internet access is now almost a fundamental requirement to exist in the US,\
No its not - not everyone in the US has internet at home and they still exist. Not everyone has indoor plumbing, but that doesn't mean that everyone else could do without. |
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CylonRedPremium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | Sorry - plumbing is not nearly the same as the internet and plumbing does not define if you EXIST in the US.
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Brian
"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain |
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 chambercPremium
join:2008-08-05
Irving, TX
·Time Warner Cable
| reply to futuresmkt
said by futuresmkt:Given that internet access is now almost a fundamental requirement to exist in the US, should we consider making it a regulated utility? The objective of providing the fastest, most secure connections at the lowest prices for everyone (old Ma Bell model) would be the goal. There may be security/big brother issues but I don't think they will be much worse than what we have now. Shouldn't everyone have equal access to the same speed at the same (low) price?
Absolutely not. The fact that we have any regulated private entities is a travesty. If you want to make something worse, involve the government. |
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hitachi369Embrace Your RightsPremium
join:2001-10-03
Grand Rapids, MI
kudos:4 Reviews:
·AT&T U-Verse
| reply to CylonRed
said by CylonRed:Sorry - plumbing is not nearly the same as the internet and plumbing does not define if you EXIST in the US.
A luxury to one maybe a fundamental of life for another. |
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Reviews:
·AT&T Midwest
| reply to CylonRed
said by CylonRed:Sorry - plumbing is not nearly the same as the internet and plumbing does not define if you EXIST in the US.
Neither does the internet.
I don't have a FB, Twit, MySpaced, etc. account and have never had a credit card or a cellphone for that matter. (Although I do have indoor plumbing.)
But then, maybe that isn't living as far as everyone is concerned. |
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CylonRedPremium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | said by Trihexagonal:said by CylonRed:Sorry - plumbing is not nearly the same as the internet and plumbing does not define if you EXIST in the US.
Neither does the internet. I don't have a FB, Twit, MySpaced, etc. account and have never had a credit card or a cellphone for that matter. (Although I do have indoor plumbing.) But then, maybe that isn't living as far as everyone is concerned. And that is my point...
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Brian
"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain |
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public
join:2002-01-19
Santa Clara, CA | reply to nunya
said by nunya:The United States is a big place. Ever been to Texas? Montana? Alaska? We have a lot of ground to cover. It's much easier to build out a tiny country.
You are not familiar with us history, and the electric utilities.
All this has been discussed 80 years ago. |
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CylonRedPremium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | reply to hitachi369
It can't define if you exist (yes - it is how the OP put it). It is not a matter of a large want but you don't EXIST till you have the internet. Which means I did not exist in the US till I was over 20 years old and I think we realize that is a load of crap.
If the internet died tomorrow - people would get along just fine after a short time just like we did before 198x....
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Brian
"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain |
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Reviews:
·AT&T Midwest
| Navin R. Johnson: The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!
Harry Hartounian: Boy, I wish I could get that excited about nothing.
Navin R. Johnson: Nothing? Are you kidding? Page 73 - Johnson, Navin R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now.
[the Sniper points to Navin's name in the phone book] |
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hitachi369Embrace Your RightsPremium
join:2001-10-03
Grand Rapids, MI
kudos:4 Reviews:
·AT&T U-Verse
| reply to CylonRed
said by CylonRed:It can't define if you exist (yes - it is how the OP put it). It is not a matter of a large want but you don't EXIST till you have the internet. Which means I did not exist in the US till I was over 20 years old and I think we realize that is a load of crap.
If the internet died tomorrow - people would get along just fine after a short time just like we did before 198x....
For whatever event to happen that would cause the internet to disappear tomorrow, I feel like we may not be around. That would be a large and significant event, likely extinction level.
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STOP THE NSA WIRETAPS
They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security
~Benjamin Franklin |
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| Or a long enough series of solar flares capable of sending an EMP that fries all electronics for more then 48 hours straight.
Outside of high security grade tech, not much would still be functional and most of the world's population would survive the sudden breakdown of almost all industrial plants all during that time.
Doomsday preppers often forget what happens to all the billions of tons of toxic chemicals that have to be managed else "interesting" things start happening. |
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 RoboticsSee You On The Dark SidePremium
join:2003-10-23
Louisa, VA | reply to futuresmkt
said by futuresmkt:Should the internet be a Regulated utility?
Yes |
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Reviews:
·Comcast
| reply to futuresmkt
I'm surprised at the number of replies and their intensity. For clarification, I meant "exist" as a generalization. The internet is increasingly a fundamental part of everyday existence. Can I live without it? Yes. Could I live without indoor plumbing, highways, sanitation services? Yes. We use the internet for information, communication, employment services, bill paying, etc. As I volunteer, I see less well off people suffering because they can't access it. That was my point.
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futuresmkt |
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