Internet Connection Speed
The first segment discussed how the US is now tenth in terms of connection speed to the internet. According to the information provided the telephone companies in return for reduced regulation and lower taxes agreed to upgrade to fiber optics across the nation. This means that for the price we are paying for a 3 MBps connection we should have a 45 MBps connection.
The phone companies were previously required to reinvest a significant portion of their returns in their infrastructure ensuring that the structure was maintained and updated. The model was based on public utilities. The deregulation allowed the companies to pocket the profits instead of reinvesting them.
The companies have not been held accountable or forced to keep their promises because, according to one interviewee, they are in bed with the commissioners who are supposed to be monitoring their activities.
To add insult to injury the telecommunications companies are suing municipalities that are trying to implement fiber optic networks for their citizens.
Net Neutrality
The second segment I found of interest discussed Net Neutrality. The internet service providers currently charge us for our internet connection. They would like to be able to charge a second fee to content providers. If the content providers pay the fees their content will download faster.
Previously the ISPs were regulated by a notion called "Common Carriage" which was enacted for interstate commerce and then applied to the communication services. The idea is that some services are so important and powerful that companies should not be allowed to favor some customers over others.
Early in railroad shipping the railroads would charge different rates to different clients for the same service. Railroad companies favored those clients in whom they were invested. This caused problems for towns that were not able to receive necessary goods and thus regulation was enacted.
The regulation was later applied to telegraph companies as they charged different rates to different wire services. The AP was favored and as a result is still the dominant wire service today. The system was also used to favor certain political candidates over others. Thus the Common Carriage regulations were applied to the communications industry.
The same regulations were initially applied to the internet, but internet service providers have been fighting successfully to have the regulations removed. This means that they can promote certain companies over others. They can provide exclusive high speed transmission to one company and deny it to another which in an internet dependent society effectively destroys the potential of the company that is not being favored.
Rick Karr said,
In 2002, the Federal Communications Commission decided that neutrality didn't apply to cable internet and in the summer of 2005, the FCC let phone companies off the hook, too. Suddenly, there were no more net neutrality rules. The FCC replaced them with suggested "principles" for an open Internet.For more information on what you can do to restore internet neutrality go to: www.SaveTheInternet.com.
2 comments:
T-Bone, the phone companies do invest in infrastructure, but any proposed net neutrality legislation will only serve to dissuade investment. As broadband demand is beginning to exceed broadband capability (look at newly released Joost for evidence of this phenomenon), expanded infrastructure is becoming increasingly vital if the Internet is to continue its continued evolution and expansion.
Thanks for your comments. The information I am working with comes from a PBS special that I saw. If you have further resources that you can point me towards I would be interested in viewing them.
It's my understanding that an internet with divided speeds is going to hurt the little guy. My clients and I are said little guy.
It is also my understanding that according to the deals already in place that we should have an internet with speeds of 45 MBps. Why should companies and consumers foot the bill for the work that phone companies are supposed to have done already.
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