Bogus Experts Fight Your Right To Broadband

An anonymous reader writes, "Karl Bode of Broadband Reports takes aim at supposed telecom experts and think tankers who profess to love the 'free market,' but want to ban the country's un-wired towns and cities from offering broadband to their residents. If you didn't know, incumbent providers frequently determine towns and cities unprofitable to serve (fine), but then turn around and lobby for laws that make it illegal to serve themselves (not so fine). They then pay experts to profess their love for a free market and deregulation — unless that regulation helps their bottom line. A simple point: 'Strange how such rabid fans of a free-market wouldn't be interested in allowing market darwinism to play out.'"

Comments

Time to start undoing the damage

[ninewands]

This is just another instance that would have shown up in Chris Mooney's book had it been reported a couple of years ago. The tactics and arguments are the same as those used on many other issues and point out the desperate need to revive the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment that was destroyed by the Republican majority in the House following the 1994 election.