You're not understanding what tnash said at all. Each of the utilities you list is a "dumb pipe". The utility company doesn't dictate what you do with the utili

You're not understanding what tnash said at all. Each of the utilities you list is a "dumb pipe". The utility company doesn't dictate what you do with the utility, and they don't charge you a different price for running a lightbulb vs. a washing machine. It's all about how much, not what's done with it. The telcos want to be exactly the opposite. They want to control what you do, how you do it, and how much you pay for doing it, not based on the bandwidth used, but the nature of the use. This is the antithesis of a dumb pipe.