Rep. Hudson(R) could not be ‘more’ wrong on his recent Vote in support of H.R. 2666. The FCC should regulate rates charged for Broadband Internet service. If this makes it to the President’s desk, President Obama should veto it.
Rep. Hudson’s claims the Internet is not a Utility. It is. We use it to access email, websites, and online commerce. We use it after we’ve popped popcorn to stream a favorite movie. Unfortunately, Rep Hudson's vote is for the Telecom Monopoly not consumers and his constituents, who would be forced to pay higher rates if this bill went into law. The Internet was made possible today mostly from the initial support and research of tax-payer funded research, through DARPA and today exists as a globally distributed network. Sounds like a utility system to me, because Tax Payers paid for it. In 1996 - Consumers used to have access to over 200 telephone companies just in NC. The Telecom act of 1996 was supposed to ensure American Consumers would have choices. One by one, lobbyists for the Telecoms have pushed State & Federal Representatives to undermine the 1996 Telecom Act and to issue laws that remove regulation, which paved the way for consolidation. Now 20 years later. We only have a few companies who offer Broadband internet access via telephone, cable or satellite. If you're a Mobile Phone user, you choices are even worse. On average, the cost of Business class broadband is $200 a month. Residential is $50-80. If you read the Terms of Service of your provider, broadband is listed as Best Effort service. What does that mean? Well if you're a business and you purchase a 50mb x 5mb service, you might not always enjoy that 50mb download capacity. One day it could be slower than your upload. That’s Best Effort. The 1996 Telecom Act was supposed to encourage the phone companies to improve their network, increase Internet speeds to the home and improve reliability. Based on the last 20 years of de-regulation, yes de-regulation. Consumers are paying higher rates for slow internet. Why doesn't every home have fiber yet? De-regulation at the state and federal level killed that idea. Fiber Optic was developed in 1966 and was quickly adopted to replace copper for telecom communications. Telecom's have held on to copper vs upgrading their network 20 years ago. There was no reason to upgrade a 100 year old copper network. Remember, not ALL de-regulation is good. In fact to de-regulate you have to regulate. Just look at what a Monopoly does when there’s are no competition. When consumers have less choice, rates are higher. That's a fact. Rep. Hudson sites a study reporting 43,560 jobs could be lost over a five year period. However, 1 in 5 jobs in NC are a result of Broadband Internet - in 2015 that represented 18% of new jobs. Makes one wonder how many jobs were lost by not upgrading to Fiber Optic to the homes when the 1996 Telecom Act went into place. It's sad that Rep Hudson has not listened to his constituents who pay for the Broadband service, including me, that have expressed their concern regarding access to the Internet. When a Representative fails to listen to their constituents and fails to educate themselves on an issue, they are clearly representing the ones who benefit by this law. The Big Monopoly Telephone Companies. They were cheering when he voted YES for this bill. I posted this on Rep Hudson's Facebook page. It was quickly deleted and I was blocked from posting. It's clear he doesn't listen to constituents. He listened to the Corporate PAC's who donate to him. Comments are closed.
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AuthorScott Huffman Archives
November 2021
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