Former FCC Chairman William Kennard lamented the awful state of broadband access for the poor in the United States.
He was quoted as saying over “net neutrality” — that, should network providers charge companies special fees for faster bandwidth is essentially a battle between the extremely wealthy (Google, Amazon and other high-tech giants, which oppose such a move) and the merely rich (the telephone and cable industries).
After 8 years of deregulating broadband in America, DSL and cable are free of any real obligation to protect the original neutrality of the Internet. When imposed rules by merger agreements expire, last-mile broadband providers will be free to pick and choose network carriers. Over these same 8 years, following this policy of deregulation, we’ve gone from 1st in the world to rivaling Slovenia. Broadband on average is slower in the US, and more expensive. In France, a triple play “Internet, Telephone, and TV” package is $32. Comcast offers less for $150.
The problem is Kennard sits on the board of many of those who benefit most from this deregulation. This makes him as if he might be partial to deregulation.
You can read the original article here. It poses a new twist on an hot issue.
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