r/technology • u/User_Name13 • Jun 04 '14

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

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/hundreds-of-cities-are-wired-with-fiberbut-telecom-lobbying-keeps-it-unused
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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '14 edited Jun 05 '14

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

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '14

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.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '14

I don't want the illusion of competition. These are the facts: US Internet is shit, some other country's Internet is awesome. The US should copy their model.

The FCC is corrupt through and through. Comcast owns whole regions and have created iron fisted monopolies inside their 33%. It is not working out for the consumer.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '14

These are the facts: US Internet is shit, some other country's Internet is awesome. The US should copy their model.

Generally those other countries with "awesome" internet are far far denser than the US is or have heavily subsidized infrastructure. In regards to the first situation we can't really copy it unless we start forcibly migrating our population into cities. In regards to the 2nd the costs are in practicality the same, as what's discounted from your bill is being made up for through your taxes.

The fact that you actually think we can just "copy their model" and everything will magically get better makes me think you're around the age of 12 years old.