Telecom Giants Trying to Kill Equitable Access to the Internet

Telecom Giants Trying to Kill Equitable Access to the Internet

November 30, 2004

Despite the clear benefits of expanding access to high-speed Internet service, giant telecommunications companies are doing everything in their power to stop cities like Milwaukee, Cleveland, St. Louis and Philadelphia from deploying low-cost wireless Internet access.  After intense lobbying from Verizon, the Pennsylvania legislature recently passed a bill that would make it illegal for any city or other "political subdivision" in the state to provide low-cost Internet access to its citizens unless a corporation like Verizon gave them permission.

• The Internet has become part of our nation’s basic infrastructure.  The Internet is rapidly becoming an integral part of the American economic and information world.  Our economy depends on rapid, dependable Internet services, yet only 20 percent of American households currently have access to high-speed Internet service. 
  
  
• The Internet should be available to all citizens at a reasonable rate. A corporate-dominated Internet infrastructure has left huge numbers of Americans without access to high-quality broadband and wireless access. Why? As the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, “A key reason is cost: Too few families can afford the typical $30 to $60 a month charged by companies such as Verizon and Comcast to connect to the Internet via high-speed telephone or cable connections.”
  
  
• Telecom giants don’t want the public to have low-cost, high quality Internet access. Major telecom companies like Verizon are trying to force citizens in Philadelphia and other cites to accept their high-cost, low-quality, and limited access Internet service. As the media reform organization Free Press notes, “The Pennsylvania legislation is a continuation of a nationwide effort by big telecom companies to write their broadband monopolies into law. Similar bills designed to thwart competition and prevent municipalities from providing affordable Internet access have been introduced in nearly a dozen other states, including Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Washington.”

Click here to read more about the benefits of community wireless from Free Press, a nonprofit organization working for a more democratic media system.

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