America’s Internet Service Now 25th In The World
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If you’re wondering where to go to get some mediocre internet service there’s good news if you live in the United States. The good ol’ US of A is now 25th in the world when it comes to internet speed. We’re just behind Romania, and also…25th! That’s not even in the neighborhood of being internationally competitive.
This news is another indication that those in control of America have no idea what it takes to run a high tech, information based, globally connected infrastructure. I could rant about the exorbitant prices charged here in America for barely tolerable internet, which is often throttled down if you’re using “too much” bandwidth. Nah, let’s just take a breath and move on. Ranting can come later.
According to CommonDreams.org the problem is most likely due to the FCC throwing away the safeguards that would encourage competition. Instead the megacorporations in control of telecommunications have a stranglehold on the market. They got the FCC to declare high-speed cable internet access an “information service” that keeps the smaller providers out of the running in the market.
You may remember back in the early to mid 90s when it seemed like every town had their own ISP, in addition to AOL or other national offerings. As a young internet user I garnered access through Information Boulevard, a small company run in my hometown by a guy all us geeks knew. The FCC made sure that type of ISP could no longer survive in America with the final blow in 2006, when broadband provided by phone companies was also classified as “information services” rather than telecommunications.
But it really doesn’t matter, right? In today’s world we don’t need a viable and competitive internet. As long as we’re still number one in being able to blow shit up little things like this don’t matter.
