Let\u2019s pretend the company that provides the land line telephone service to your home institutes a new policy.\u00a0\u00a0 That company also owns an airline called PhoneCo Airlines.\u00a0 So from now on, every time you try to call Southwest or American Airlines, your call will be rerouted to PhoneCo.<\/p>\n
Unthinkable! you\u2019d say.\u00a0 Beyond unthinkable!\u00a0 A phone company is a regulated monopoly, granted the privilege by government of no competition and assured profit.\u00a0\u00a0 Their mandate is to provide the infrastructure and, for a regulated price, allow you to use it.\u00a0 Yet this regulated monopoly has acquired a business in what used to be the free market, and it is using its monopoly advantage against its competitors.<\/p>\n
Welcome to the next big thing on the Internet.\u00a0 Almost all homes and businesses access the Internet through either a phone line or a cable line, both regulated monopoly franchises granted by local government.<\/p>\n
In this Brave New World, some providers, who also own other media companies, reportedly are planning to use their monopoly advantage to limit your access to what flows over their lines.\u00a0 News reports say that some providers are planning to restrict or impose fees on customers\u2019 access to competing services, such as Netflix and Skype, or allow preference such as faster transmission times for commercial web sites that pay extra.<\/p>\n
Am I missing something?\u00a0 I see no difference between that and a phone company deciding whom you can call on the phone.<\/p>\n
In this upside-down logic, those who argue for a \u201cfree and unregulated\u201d Internet are the business interests that want it unregulated for themselves so they can limit their customers.\u00a0\u00a0 The opposite viewpoint, known as \u201cnet neutrality,\u201d is championed by interest groups that see regulation as the only way to assure that the Internet is not stifled by these monopolistic practices.<\/p>\n
Regulated monopolies, with all their special privileges, have expanded into competitive industries, while singing hymns to the free market, and nobody is stopping them.\u00a0 I don\u2019t get it.<\/p>\n
In the vigorous national debate on this subject, I have not seen anyone raise the issue of this unholy coupling of monopolies and markets.\u00a0 So I\u2019m saying it here.<\/p>\n
Recently the Federal Communications Commission enacted a rule, described by some as disappointingly weak but opposed by a majority in Congress.\u00a0 The House of Representatives passed a resolution \u201cdisapproving\u201d of the rule, whatever that means.\u00a0\u00a0 This issue will continue to be divided mostly along party lines.<\/p>\n
So here\u2019s an alternative. Franchises are granted by cities.\u00a0 Your city probably has an ordinance, and maybe a franchise review board composed of a few unappreciated civic volunteers. Your city can \u201cjust say no\u201d to Internet tyranny.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not necessarily simple.\u00a0 The regulation is largely governed by the federal Telecommunications Act.\u00a0\u00a0 Cities\u2019 only choices might be to accept the whoe package or revoke the franchise, and then you lose not just your Internet provider but also your cable or phone.\u00a0 Cities could provide free wireless access to everybody, but in the current fiscal climate that\u2019s a pipe dream.<\/p>\n
But cities and towns can act together.\u00a0 Local governments acting in concert,\u00a0 through such organizations such as the New Mexico Municipal League, can be a powerhouse and demand freedom of access through the franchise agreement.<\/p>\n
So while Congress remains paralyzed, local governments acting together may provide an alternate route to getting things done.\u00a0 There are well-established approaches for state and local governments to act cooperatively, such as uniform laws and interstate compacts drafted collectively and adopted separately by every state.<\/p>\n
This is a bigger subject and can be a bigger vision than just the Internet issue.\u00a0 At least until General Electric buys the electric cooperatives.<\/p>\n
Triple Spaced Again, \u00a9 New Mexico News Services 2011<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let\u2019s pretend the company that provides the land line telephone service to your home institutes a new policy.\u00a0\u00a0 That company also owns an airline called PhoneCo Airlines.\u00a0 So from now on, every time you try to call Southwest or American … Continue reading