Stimulus Package Shouldn't Reward Bad Broadband Behavior

[Commentary] It's all well and good that President-Elect Obama wants high-speed Internet connectivity to be part of the economic stimulus package, but the money shouldn't be given to telephone and cable companies who refuse to bring their customers into the digital age and contribute to the local economies. It's pretty clear that if new areas are to be served, and if underserved areas are to be upgraded, then either the incumbent telecom companies have to clean up their acts, or they have to make way for others. It's also clear that consumers should get some benefits out of the deal. As of now, consumers could be stuck on one hand with paying the telecom provider high monthly fees for the new service while at the same time having their tax dollars go to pay these big companies that won't upgrade their service (but have sufficient coin to spend millions of dollars to buy back their stock). The good news is that there is a relatively cheap way to stimulate the telecommunications sector. The bad news is that the Federal Communications Commission or Congress have to do it. One or the other have to create new competition by allowing for other companies to have access to the lines of telecom and cable companies through wholesale or line sharing.