How politics are preventing public access to the Internet

[SOURCE: Utne Reader, AUTHOR: Bennett Gordon]
If it's the government's duty to maintain roads and provide gas and electricity, then why not the Internet? Robert McChesney and John Podesta, writing in Washington Monthly, suggest that the problem isn't economic, it's not even technological. The problem is political. The United States is falling behind the technological curve as countries like Japan actively pursue municipally owned Internet systems. The "digital divide" is allowing populations with Internet access to surge ahead in innovation and education, leaving those without it in the dust. The United States is putting itself on the wrong side of this divide by passing laws discouraging Internet access. There are legitimate debates going on right now about Wi-Fi access. But the question shouldn't be whether or not it should be set up. The question should be "how."
http://www.utne.com/webwatch/2006_233/news/11961-1.html

See also:
* Cities' wireless plans hit snags
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Robert Brumfield]
Across the nation, municipalities looking to provide wireless Internet access citywide are meeting with resistance from local cable and telecommunications companies that fear such projects will cut into their business. How these skirmishes play out will have important implications for school leaders and their efforts to provide anytime, anywhere learning opportunities for students.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=6073