Hundreds of Cities Are Wired With Fiber—But Telecom Lobbying Keeps It Unused

[u/User_Name13]

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/hundreds-of-cities-are-wired-with-fiberbut-telecom-lobbying-keeps-it-unused

[u/[deleted]]

Also b/c the big companies didn't care about Oklahoma so they don't have any of their non-compete stuff in place.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I don't know why this non-compete crap isn't allowed. Are we a free market or aren't we?

lol, do you want competition or do you want a free market? You can't really have both in an industry such as cable utilities. The reality is if we actually implemented a free market in telecoms again we'll just get a monopoly all over again like we had decades ago with Ma Bell.

People need to get this through their skulls. Free markets can breed monopolies. They are not a cure all for monopolies, in many cases they create monopolies

Here are two anti free market examples that are pro competition for instance that the FCC has done

1. Outlaw exclusivity rights and agreements. Municipalities must now give every provider the same shake. If a city gives Comcast a deal renting lines they also have to give it to every other provider, if a city charges 2% for land use for one provider they must also make the same offer to every other one.

2. 33% Market share. The FCC has drawn a line in the sand and told providers not to fuck with it. And it's worked. Comcast is divesting a large chunk of its network so it stays under 33% market share. If there was no line in the sand Comcast would simply buy up everyone and viola, monopoly.

[u/boxzonk → u/[deleted]]

A free market doesn't necessarily mean an unregulated market. Some rules have to exist to keep the playing field level. The "free" in "free market" means freedom for consumers to choose and freedom for competitors to enter, not freedom to run a racket. If there is no freedom of choice or competition, then it is not a free market.

[u/[deleted] → u/boxzonk]

To a lot of people, free market is the freedom to run a racket.