NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Competition
Just as a point of interest, there are readers of this list in some parts of the world who are laughing themselves silly at some of the arguments we see here. Why? Because they realize that if there was broad competition in the Internet access industry in the U.S., especially if wholesale and retail components were *effectively* decoupled so that the range of options were available here that are available in various other countries, many of these other problems would vanish, or at least be significantly reduced. U.S. Internet users by and large don't have a clue about how incredibly limited and primitive their choices are here. They simply don't know that there's better possible. The essential problem with letting ISPs make these decisions in our largely unregulated environment is that most Internet users have few options (some have none!) when it comes to alternatives to ISP policies with which they don't agree. Voting with your feet is impossible if effective competition is so limited that your feet are cut off. --Lauren-- NNSquad Moderator