I think its also important to point out that making internet service a utility does not mean making the industry publicly or government run. I believe what needs to be done is regulation to strongly encourage (or force if need be) private companies to truly compete with eachother. Without true competition in the market, there will be no incentive to provide more universally available service with faster speeds.
Great question. I wouldn't say there is a basic qualifier or characteristic per say that makes anything a utility - it has to do with the impact it has on the overall good public good it does or facilitates and the internet has certain surpassed other utilities in that sense - land line phone service for example. While we pay in a similar fashion to for electricity and phone service now, the utility aspect has to do with the regulatory environment. For internet service there currently is little regulation on ISP's. They can discriminate for any reason without consequence and can charge higher and higher rates for the same basic service (which has occured steadily over the last decade - check this out for more info: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/why-phone-cable-internet-bills-cost-much-130914030.html). This is what happened prior to the breakup of AT&T in land line service. Right now most broadband providers operate in local monopolies, rarely do you find large providers competiting head to head even in smaller markets in the US. Since the internet has become something so vital in our society, there is a need for regulation to enable even those in rural and low income areas to be provided a true broadband option that is fairly priced, which currently is sadly not the case in the US.
The U.S. broadband and cellular markets are under control of a few wealthy corporations and there doesn't seem to be much hope of any change in our lifetimes.
The companies years ago, made decisions to split up the markets they served so each company would own a large slice of the pie in different large metropolitan areas. That's why you see slow speeds and high prices, and outrageous CEO salaries and benefit packages. There is no longer any real competition to force better service and lower costs.
Until the government (FCC) decides to break up these companies and force real competition, there's going to be no change.
In your estimation, what are the basic features that does qualify a particular service/good a public utility? I am a little bit confuse here, does making internet access a public utility means it is free? I know we does pay for electricity and for our landlines and it is the same with the internet now.
I'm skeptical by nature and I'm afraid if the US Government gets their hand on the internet as a utility, something is going to be screwed up. I'm not so sure the answer is getting government involved. It may be good at first but what happens when things need to be upgraded? If the Government has their hand in it it could take years and years.
However, nice post, good idea if it works the way it should.
If broadband services are not truly competitive, there may be legal remedies which don't require the institution of government oversight. Not that I'm particularly opposed to it.
Alison is in line with what I'm talking about - Internet Access should truly begin to be treated as a utility much like land line phone service was during the 1980's and electricity. Broadband providers have such large control over access that they are discriminating against those who live in the most rural and lowest income areas. Beyond this, many broadband providers are not truly in competition making the market much less competitive than those found in many other places around the world. At the end of the day Americans are paying too much for slower access.
Yes, he is comparing it to electricity so that is my understanding. I think Gerad means it should be subsidized and freely, readily accessible to all Americans -- like water, really. From the infographic he linked to, it appears Internet access is more available in some parts of the world. With the government handing out free smartphones to people who are on various programs like food stamps, though, I wonder how much more Internet access is needed? Are people who can't afford Internet access themselves getting it via the phones they are getting from taxpayers? Or are the criteria to get these phones pretty strict and stringent?
I would say, Internet is already utility, you can start or stop the service, you pay as you go, you have a limit at 5GB if you pass that you pay more as you go. There would not be a daily life without internet.
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