Politicians and regulators talk a lot about how they want to “bridge the digital divide.” But most of them lack the political courage to correctly identify why that divide still exists in 2023: regional telecom monopolies, protected by corrupt state and federal politicians, that have worked tirelessly over thirty years to consolidate power, crush all meaningful competition, and jack up the cost of service.
The cited lack of political courage is counter cultural and ahistorical. Americans have history dating back to the founding of the nation of mustering backbone, standing up to bullies and saying no. Appears their elected representatives better find that backbone -- and soon. Or they'll have something to truly fear: angry constituents and voters inclined to boot them from office.
Frustrated by decades of monopoly dysfunction, towns and cities all over the country have decided to build their own networks, whether it’s municipal, built on the back of city-owned power utilities, or via cooperatives. There’s a lot of very cool stuff happening in this space that was supercharged by the peak COVID frustration with unreliable broadband and home schooling.Utilities function as a natural monopoly. The dysfunction is the result of flawed public policy that regards advanced telecom as a competitive market, defined as one having many sellers and buyers with relatively equal access to information on costs and value. Without the framework for a competitive market and the operation of market forces, public and cooperative ownership is not only superior but necessary. And it shouldn't just be individual communities. The scope should be regional such as Utah's UTOPIA Fiber in order to generate more favorable economies of scale, crucial now amid tight material and labor markets.
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