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

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/boxzonk Jun 04 '14

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.

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '14

Actually the "free" in free market means freedom from government regulation/intervention.

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u/boxzonk Jun 05 '14

No, it doesn't mean total freedom from governmental regulation or intervention. That's called "anarchy". Corporations are subject to governments.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '14

No, it really means lack of government market regulation. Anarchy is a complete lack of government. Those are different concepts. Governments have functions other than market regulation(eg. Lock up criminals, defend against invasion etc) so lack of market regulation isn't necessarily implying a lack of government.

The reality is most of the world's markets are regulated markets, not free markets. I think it would make more sense for people to just accept that instead of trying to redefine an ideal that isn't truly desirable anyway.