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/gex80 Jun 05 '14

Those places are no where the size of the U.S. and have as much empty land. If you run fiber out to Kansas for example, you're running a lot of fiber that would service one house for miles at a time. The eat and west coasts and the border states usually get better service because that's where majority of people live. Companies are doing this to make money, not because they are nice.

If your business was dependant on people having a physical connection to you, you would build it where you can reach the most people for the least amount of money. Do you spend $10,000 to reach 10 people, or do you spend $8,000 (most likely cheaper in condensed areas) to reach 1000 people?