Can the US Actually Cultivate Local Competition in Broadband?

New submitter riskkeyesq writes with a link to a blog post from Dane Jasper, CEO of Sonic.net, about what Jasper sees as the deepest problem in the U.S. broadband market and the Internet in general: "There are a number of threats to the Internet as a system for innovation, commerce and education today. They include net neutrality, the price of Internet access in America, performance, rural availability and privacy. But none of these are the root issue, they're just symptoms. The root cause of all of these symptoms is a disease: a lack of competition for consumer Internet access." Soft landings for former legislators, lobbyists disguised as regulators, hundreds of thousands of miles of fiber sitting unused, the sham that is the internet provider free market is keeping the US in a telecommunications third-world. What, exactly, can American citizens do about it? One upshot, in Jasper's opinion (hardly disinterested, is his role at CEO at an ISP that draws praise from the EFF for its privacy policies) is this: "Today’s FCC should return to the roots of the Telecom Act, and reinforce the unbundling requirements, assuring that they are again technology neutral. This will create an investment ladder to facilities for competitive carriers, opening access to build out and serve areas that are beyond our reach today."

Comments

Re: Split Comcast in two

[Anonymous Coward]

This. In all markets, the biggest players almost always win. Not the best. Sooner or later some company starts buying the competitors instead of actually competing. That's when the system fails and the products or services degrade. By then, the company is so big that its focus shifts into changing legislation in its favor becomes more interesting than to innovate. What mechanisms exist to stop this except the extremely weak monopoly laws?

Re:Split Comcast in two

[ColdWetDog]

That may be only a temporary solution. Remember Ma Bell? split up into AT& for long distance and regional 'baby Bells'. The regional companies eventually all morphed back together again, like the liquid-metal terminator. Long-distance rates dropped because companies like Sprint & MCI were allowed to sell services over AT&T's wires (AT&T was forced to allow this). Now we don't quite have a situation of a total monopoly, but it's clear that there's not enough competition, especially at the local level--the service maps are basically gerrymandered districts.

Nothing is permanent. The breakup of Ma Bell did allow for exciting technology such as 2400 baud modems and telephones that had features. It's unclear if the Internet as we know it would exist today if Ma Bell were still alive. Now that the Bell System /SBC has reincarnated itself in AT&T / Verizon it's unclear if the Internet can continue as we know it for much longer.

So I would agree with the the premise of Mr. Jasper - we have to cut the head off the new Zombie before it completely engulfs us. If successful (which I rather doubt), it may set the monster back another decade or two but it will always be there. Under the bed. Hungry. Waiting.

Re:Government is evil!

[Anonymous Coward]

"Small government" is really just code word for "the government should only get involved for the issue I want them involved in". It's why the "small government" people see no irony in the government getting involved in regulating marriage, people's health care choices, what substances they can put in their body, etc.

It's the same as "judicial activism". For the right, "judicial activism" is just code for "decision I don't agree with". Now when the the court strikes down or re-interprets laws in the way they favor, it strangely is no longer judicial activism.

Uh... no

[rsilvergun]

There's a reason we gave out cable monopolies. It was too expensive to build out the infrastructure w/o a guaranteed profit and we're too frightened of the gov't to just make it a public works project. It's either monopolies or figuring out how to counteract 50+ years of cold war propaganda about the evils of socialism...