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from the socialize-the-costs-and-privatize-the-profits dept.
Broadband providers have spent years lobbying against utility-style regulations that protect consumers from high prices and bad service.
But now, broadband lobby groups are arguing that Internet service is similar to utilities such as electricity, gas distribution, roads, and water and sewer networks. In the providers' view, the essential nature of broadband doesn't require more regulation to protect consumers. Instead, they argue that broadband's utility-like status is reason for the government to give ISPs more money.
[...] "Like electricity, broadband is essential to every American," USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter and NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield wrote Monday in an op-ed for The Topeka Capital-Journal. "Yet US broadband infrastructure has been financed largely by the private sector without assurance that such costs can be recovered through increased consumer rates."
[...] While ISPs want the benefits of being treated like utilities—such as pole attachment rights and access to public rights-of-way—they oppose traditional utility-style obligations such as regulated prices and deployment to all Americans.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 17 2018, @04:21PM (1 child)
This is just another symptom of the corruption that SCOTUS enabled by removing the limits on spending by corporate interests. This isn't a particularly hard problem to solve, but when you have major cities that only have 2 choices, I'm not sure why it would be shocking that rural areas are even worse.
Here in Seattle things have finally improved, we've got a 3rd ISP that's been installing wires, so we may finally have a 3rd option. Although, not everywhere, some folks live in buildings where there's only one choice because the building owner only allows access to one company for telecommunications.
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Saturday August 18 2018, @07:05AM
Even just two choices is better than many places have. Here is Yuma you get Charter or a DSL solution that is very well engineered but just not technologically able to compete with a cable company. Sputum (aka Spectrum) does just enough to beat the DSL option and not one iota more. They are busy advertising starting at 60 Mbps and crowing at Gbps while actually delivering at barely 25 Mbps. Just enough to legally claim 'broadband' and mouthing highspeed because it doesn't have legal implications.
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