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Wow. The article notes: > Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act requires the FCC to determine whether broadband is being deployed "on a reasonable and time

by tzs 1y ago

Wow. The article notes: > Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act requires the FCC to determine whether broadband is being deployed "on a reasonable and timely basis" to all Americans. Carr says that when looking into whether that is being satisfied the FCC should not consider affordability because section 706 does not contain the word "affordability". But it also does not contain any words for any of the things he does want the FCC to consider. All it says is "reasonable and timely". I bet if you polled consumers and asked what they would think it means if they were informed some commercial service or product was available to them on a reasonable basis an overwhelming majority would include in their answer that it means it is available to them at a price they find affordable.

dclowd9901 1y ago
Of course the angle is disingenuous. "Reasonable" here implies that it's reasonably attainable for customers. This is merely choosing interpretation arbitrarily. Like me saying the sky is green because green is partly comprised of the color blue.
- tossandthrow 1y ago
  Reasonably attainable must also mean affordable. If it is not affordable most people cannot attain it. Note: affordable and cheap is not the same
  - dclowd9901 1y ago
    Yes that's what I was getting at
- autoexec 1y ago
  > This is merely choosing interpretation arbitrarily I'm guessing it's not arbitrary at all and it's choosing an interpretation most favorable to the industry that has bribed and captured the agency
supertrope 1y ago
The FCC is a revolving door between industry and regulators. When you understand that the true mission of the FCC is to please big telecom it all starts to make sense. Hence the auctioning off spectrum in huge geographic blocks that only the largest corporations can finance. If the US was really serious about universal broadband there would be a Telecom Ministry doing the cable laying itself or at least local loop unbundling. If we treated roads the same way as broadband we would have private tolled highways near city cores and dirt roads in rural areas.

by tzs 1y ago

dclowd9901 1y ago

Of course the angle is disingenuous. "Reasonable" here implies that it's reasonably attainable for customers. This is merely choosing interpretation arbitrarily. Like me saying the sky is green because green is partly comprised of the color blue.

tossandthrow 1y ago
Reasonably attainable must also mean affordable. If it is not affordable most people cannot attain it. Note: affordable and cheap is not the same
- dclowd9901 1y ago
  Yes that's what I was getting at
autoexec 1y ago
> This is merely choosing interpretation arbitrarily I'm guessing it's not arbitrary at all and it's choosing an interpretation most favorable to the industry that has bribed and captured the agency

supertrope 1y ago

The FCC is a revolving door between industry and regulators. When you understand that the true mission of the FCC is to please big telecom it all starts to make sense. Hence the auctioning off spectrum in huge geographic blocks that only the largest corporations can finance. If the US was really serious about universal broadband there would be a Telecom Ministry doing the cable laying itself or at least local loop unbundling. If we treated roads the same way as broadband we would have private tolled highways near city cores and dirt roads in rural areas.