Every day you're being taken advantage of by a flawed system that allows the big internet service providers to price gouge you in the United States. Some will argue that internet access isn't exactly a life or death issue, but there are a number of issues that affect the average American.
Here are 3:
The Wallet Issue:
Compared to other parts of the world, such as Hong Kong or Korea, Americans are paying astronomical prices for much slower speeds. In Hong Kong you can get a 500Mbps symmetric connection for $25 per month. Now, go compare your internet plan. Feels like you got kicked in the stomach, huh? Even if you don't care about how fast your internet access is, you should care about how much you are getting swindled for the access you are getting. There aren't too many people I know who wouldn't mind having an extra $25-$75 bucks or more per month to put towards groceries, gas, bills, or savings.
The Social Issue:
By putting high prices on the cost to access information, it puts those who are economically constrained at a serious disadvantage. It's not just about getting access to Facebook. In many cases, you can't even apply for a job without internet access. About 1/3, roughly 100 million Americans, are facing this digital divide, because it's not in the best interests of corporate profit.
The Global Issue:
Countries with cheaper access, and much faster speeds are leap frogging the United States in areas of technology and education. You can't lead the world in innovation if you're hamstringing your own people. While other countries are aiming for 1 gigabit symmetric connections to everyone's home, the U.S. is shooting for a paltry 4 megabits. The divide isn't just here at home, it's with the rest of the world as well.
The big ISPs have no incentive to address any of these issues. With no competition or regulation, they are free to charge as much as they wish for subpar service. Google has stepped up to tackle this with its Google Fiber project, but faces many challenges from the heavily entrenched ISP incumbents. No one is saying internet access should be free, but the growing inequality the exorbitant costs, slow speeds, and lack of access, are causing calls for serious changes to be made across the board. Our standards need to be higher.
Susan Crawford is on a crusade to right this wrong. However, she can't do it alone. Watch her interview. Then exercise your voice.
Susan Crawford on Why U.S. Internet Access is Slow, Costly, and Unfair from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.
Source: Bloomberg
Source: The Verge
Posts
