The latest shiny object currently fixing the gaze of Obama’s fans is the President-Elect’s promise to “promote universal, affordable high-speed Internet access.”
First of all, the reasons the USA might be “falling behind” other advanced nations in Internet infrastructure are not necessarily due to any stagnation on our part. The United States is a huge landmass, so the lines of connection are necessarily longer and more expensive. Being technologically advanced for a longer time than other countries means we have older infrastructure as well, which is why technologies like DSL which piggyback broadband over existing technology are so cost-effective compared to building nationwide fiber-optic broadband. Other advanced countries on the other hand, such as Japan or South Korea, are far more densely populated, much smaller territories, and did not have such entrenched preexisting infrastructure. Other countries can get a lot more Internet out of less physical infrastructure.
The other part of the ugly truth about the American Internet is that capital has been hemorrhaging out of this country and into developing ones in Asia. We’re suffering more than just a lack of FiOS. Our bridges are falling down.
The Internet is the freest market left to the American economy, and it has advanced steadily over the years ever since it was opened up to the market. The fact that broadband technology is not spreading or improving at the pace others might like is not exactly a national emergency. A lot of hatred has been thrown at every single broadband ISP, mostly because the cost of a luxury item like broadband Internet access still carries a luxury price and some wish it wasn’t so. There’s no better time for Government to ride in on a white horse and nationalize something than when the purveyors of a given industry are cast in such negative light.
But all of this talk about spurring the economy by spending tax money on Internet infrastructure is just a distraction. The President-Elect remains the same person who voted in favor of the 850 billion dollar Hank Paulson Heist Bill, FISA, and chose to compromise on the Patriot Act.
He has yet to prove that his Bill of Rights purity quotient is going to be higher than George W. Bush’s. A subsidy to broadband Internet is not going to change that.
