The US is falling way behind other countries in the speed and cost of broadband access because of a lack of competition. Elsewhere in the world, the company that owns the physical internet backbone must sell access to a range of independent ISPs on the wholesale market. The result is a panoply of companies competing on service, quality, and price. But, a recent Scientific American article argues, back in 2002, the FCC reclassified broadband as “information service” instead of “telecommunications service,” and Mr. Local Monopoly has been partying it up ever since. [More]
