With the vast majority of Americans greatly overpaying for slow and unreliable broadband compared to connections in Europe and Asia, hundreds of communities have started building their own networks. Notable success stories (and the best places to get broadband in the US) are Chattanooga, Tennessee; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Monticello, Minnesota.
AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, CenturyLink, and others quickly responded - by trying to ban community networks in state legislatures. In May, Time Warner Cable finally bought legislation in North Carolina to effectively ban new community networks in North Carolina after more than four years of trying.
It quickly became clear that powerful incumbents like Time Warner Cable had convinced (with copious sums of campaign cash, no doubt) elected officials that community networks were all failures and, in any event, unnecessary because the big cable and phone companies were doing a great job providing services.
Over at Community Broadband Networks, we put together a video to compare community fiber networks to the big incumbent phone and cable companies. Because North Carolina had the biggest fight over this issue most recently, we used data from North Carolina:
We certainly understand why massive companies like AT&T and Time Warner Cable spend tens of millions to influence legislation in their favor. What baffles us is why Americans put up with state (and national) legislatures that transparently bend to the will of those companies rather than ensuring we all have the infrastructure necessary to thrive today.
Follow Christopher Mitchell on Twitter: www.twitter.com/communitynets
Most local economies and climates can produce/grow a majority of their needs. We should strengthen our local economies and only allow larger third party corps to handle global logistics challenges. We don't need every company to become a national or global entity. Sometimes remaining local can benefit a smaller service or goods provider. We need to live by the belief that "bigger isn't always better!"
Also, I do not reject all forms of globalization. You want to trade gold and certain exotic commodities, like coffee, globally? Great! Certain goods and services need to have global reach when availability of those goods or service don't exist in a local demographic.
To everyone saying we need to nationalize broadband. I wouldn't trust OUR government to run a telecom. The bureaucracy alone would cripple efficiency let alone the egregious amount of funding necessary to run it successfully. We need to allow for the creation of strong local networks. These large service providers can't have it both ways! You either nationalize it or you allow unrestricted competition, which is the basis of capitalism. Contrary to popular belief, capitalism, is the ability to have unrestricted competition but not the unrestricted freedom to screw over your consumers or employees for profit.
A thinking end, and a sitting end.
Because his job depends upon his seat,
why bother, friend?
To the flag
Of the United Corporations of America
And to the profits
For which it stands
One conglomerate
Under Capitalism
With liberty
And justice
For the top 2%
And have you heard Santa Clara Vanguard's battery this year? Paul Rennick's book is SICK!
"Vanguard Percussion 2011 Full Run"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9pNdMZS4zA&NR=1