Universal Access to Broadband?
Political pressure mounts from educators, unions, and other lobbyists to require government to provide universal access to broadband though DSL or cable. Ostensibly, this is to "level the playing field", so that every American can surf the internet at equal rate of speed. The cost to do this is prohibitively expensive, as the buildout of this systems would cost billions but would only serve relatively few living scattered about in low-density population areas.
What is not mentioned in this debate is that high speed internet access is already available to nearly everyone in America. Satellite internet providers Skyway USA, Wildblue, and HughesNet provide this service at rate starting as low as $29.95/month. Other technologies that could economically reach rural Americans such as Wi-Max (wireless) and powerline transmission wait in the wings.
I resent the effort by the AFL-CIO/CWC to force any company or taxpayer to subsidize the employment of union workers to string cable or fiber optics across America. Many industrialized and developing nations will never be fully wired, nor should they. Copper wiring is a vestige of the past.
Living in the countryside relieves country folk from the headache of traffic jams and smog that city dwellers endure. But what right do we have to demand the same serenity, silence, and pristine air when we voluntarily choose to live in an urban area? Government cannot make everything equal for everyone everywhere -- nor is it their job to do so.
There are costs and benefits when choosing to live in rural areas of the country. Accepting slower speeds on country roads is equivalent to accepting slower speeds on the information superhighway.
High-speed internet access is not a right, and forcing others to provide this service through legislation and taxation is slavery. And as usual, the market has already provided a solution.
George Dick
Vice-chair LPKY
What is not mentioned in this debate is that high speed internet access is already available to nearly everyone in America. Satellite internet providers Skyway USA, Wildblue, and HughesNet provide this service at rate starting as low as $29.95/month. Other technologies that could economically reach rural Americans such as Wi-Max (wireless) and powerline transmission wait in the wings.
I resent the effort by the AFL-CIO/CWC to force any company or taxpayer to subsidize the employment of union workers to string cable or fiber optics across America. Many industrialized and developing nations will never be fully wired, nor should they. Copper wiring is a vestige of the past.
Living in the countryside relieves country folk from the headache of traffic jams and smog that city dwellers endure. But what right do we have to demand the same serenity, silence, and pristine air when we voluntarily choose to live in an urban area? Government cannot make everything equal for everyone everywhere -- nor is it their job to do so.
There are costs and benefits when choosing to live in rural areas of the country. Accepting slower speeds on country roads is equivalent to accepting slower speeds on the information superhighway.
High-speed internet access is not a right, and forcing others to provide this service through legislation and taxation is slavery. And as usual, the market has already provided a solution.
George Dick
Vice-chair LPKY
posted by George Conrad Dick at 5:35 AM
1 Comments:
Hi George,
I agree completely. Everyone already has access to the internet, and this seems to be a huge boon-dongle and waste of tax payer money.
Especially when you consider companies like Google are trying to give away wireless internet now in major cities, and I suspect that they will one day want to do this for everyone, its just going to take some time, and technology of course.
I would like to see the Cable Industry de-regulated in Kentucky, and its too bad that there isn't more talk of this.
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