There Is No Internet Freedom Without Internet and Broadband Competition

[Commentary] The unknown history of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in America is an ugly tale of government intervention, not free market enterprise. Most reporters and pundits today call AT&T, Verizon and Comcast et al "Internet Service Providers". They are not. AT&T and Verizon (and Centurylink) are the incumbent telecommunications utilities that have taken control of the wires as have the cable companies.

In fact, they were able to get the government to protect their businesses to keep monopoly controls over the wires. In most of America, customers are stuck with one or two wired providers. Customers have more choices in deodorant or toothpaste than they do of Internet or broadband providers as the incumbent wires are controlled by the cable or phone company. And with AT&T and Verizon having announced they are not going to upgrade most of their territories, or worse, that they plan to abandon whole areas of their wired customers, it's more like an Internet prison for customers. And now, with the new threats by AT&T, working with the American Legislative Exchange Council, ALEC, to close down the entire telecommunications networks and obligations on both a state as well as federal level, it is time to stop these movements and start by bringing America real "Internet freedom", not simply freedom for the companies from regulation.