When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite - Winston Churchill
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North Carolina flirts with a corporate oligopoly of ISPs
IT APPEARS that corporate political influence in the US might again trump the public interest in North Carolina.
As reported by Raw Story, the Republican dominated State Assembly has passed a bill to prohibit communities from upgrading their Internet infrastructure, forcing municipalities to buy Internet services from a cartel of corporate owned Internet service providers (ISPs), including Time Warner and Comcast.
Both Time Warner and Comcast have opposed the very concept that the US Federal Communications Commission has the power to impose regulations on ISPs to preserve Net Neutrality, and both have also begun restricting their subscribers' Internet bandwidth consumption.
These massive nationwide US ISPs are undoubtedly slobbering over the juicy prospect of metering broadband Internet access in the future to extract ever increasing cash from their captive subscribers for downloading videos, music and IPTV programmes.
The North Carolina bill was cobbled up after several communities in the state had successfully pursued their own fibre-optic broadband infrastructure developments. One project in the town of Wilson, North Carolina, delivers broadband Internet bandwidth of up to 100Mbps, and does so at lower prices than the corporate owned ISPs in the area.
Other North Carolina municipalities including Asheville, Bladenboro and Momeyer have passed resolutions condemning the Assembly bill favouring the big corporations' stranglehold on delivering Internet access throughout the state.
The text of this arguably politically influenced US state legislation is available online. The bill now goes to the North Carolina State Senate. µ
Tags: Internet
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Thus far the fastest muni wi-fi in the U.S. is located in Chattanooga, TN, and it's 1G. 1G -- not very fast, is it? The trouble with gov't boondoggles such as this is they're always light years behind the private sector when it comes to innovations, investment and service. Who do you complain to when your gov't provided service is slow or on the fritz? A government employee who has no interest whatsoever in providing reliable service. Let's hope these bills protect private companies who employ and train people; invest in communities and pay taxes can do so without being forced to compete against government-subsidized entities.
Hear hear, 'gimmeabreak', and BRAVO, sir!
See, the thing is, the politicians involved have been called out on this (and rightfully so), because we have a free press. The situation will resolve itself in due time, whether by recension of the law or democratic means.
After all, it's not as though the US is in comparison with the likes of China, who would likely as much KILL you for having the cheek to start your own ISP.
I wonder what these Chavs will think when China eventually takes over the world stage. It will certainly be a rude awakening for all concerned. Hell, they might even have to get jobs! :O
'Corruption'? 'Terrorism'? Bold words, sir! Of course, the sanguine types at Number 11 have long mastered the deft art of avoiding any bold moves which might attract such unfortunate terms as those, preferring instead the more circumspect routes of mealymouthing and double-dealing with friend and foe, alike.
They may, for example, choose merely to cede territories, privileges, and peoples they (provably) don't control to the ruthless whims of dictators and other idealogues they (putatively) don't support. Remember how ol' paper-waving Uncle Harold sold-out Czechoslovakia to the Nazis? Not to be outdone, double-dealing Uncle Winnie later told Uncle Joe to come get his '90% interest' in Romania and Bulgaria whenever it was convenient to pop over from Moscow...plus a half-interest (!) in Yugoslavia & Hungary, just for being such a friendly sort.
And all this done in the sacred name of maintaining control over an increasingly motley, unruly assortment of colonial interests so as to continue the extraction of commodities -- not least of which being blood tribute, in time of war -- from their pitifully hapless subjects. Forget international treaties and fie on gentlemen's agreements with one's allies. No time for childish pap like loyalty, decency or honour when it comes to matters of national diplomacy; the ends justify the means.
Ah, yes, good times for the tri-cross colours, eh? Let's have another round of smug feelings of moral superiority, for the house!
World leaders in corruption and terrorism.
(and where, just like Libya, every soldier is a painstakingly selected and trained psychopath dreaming of the day he can slaughter the complainers and protesters in America, thereby saving his own country from infidels and heretics)
Holding taxpayers back AND making them pay through the nose for that privilege!