Recently, Representative Ted Yoho penned an opinion piece explaining that the FCC recent reclassification of the Internet, protecting Net Neutrality, is a bad thing.
Ted Yoho is Wrong
First, the Internet is not 20 years old. Dial-ups existed in the United States more than 25 years ago, but that’s another story.
The Internet was made possible today mostly from the initial support and research of tax-payer funded research, through DARPA and today exists as a globally distributed network.
Secondly, the FCC is not reclassifying the Internet. Again,
the Internet is a global network. Instead, the FCC is guaranteeing open access to the Internet.
Recently, Internet service providers have been manipulating access to the Internet for economic gain. The most obvious example is Comcast’s throttling of Netflix. Customers, who had paid Comcast to access the Internet, were unable to use Netflix because Comcast had demanded additional monies from Netflix.
Such access limitations are unprecedented and demanded action. The results of which limit the capitalist values that Rep. Yoho claims to be protecting.
Lastly, although Rep. Yoho claims that there “is truly no limit to the amount of competition now present in the Internet marketplace,” he must not be aware of the actual limitations to Internet access imposed by our Federal, State, and local governments.
In Gainesville, the vast majority of residents have exactly one option for high speed Internet access. There is no competition present in the marketplace. The recent rule defining high speed Internet access means that AT&T’s DSL service no longer classifies.
Many would argue that the lack of competition is the reason why AT&T has not improved their Internet speeds in more than 5 years.
In closing, when Representative Yoho claims that the recent FCC reclassification harms the ability of a buyer to buy what they want from a seller they want, indicates that the Representative has no understanding of the subject at hand.
It’s sad that Ted Yoho has not listened to the many constituents, including me, that have expressed their feelings on this issue. When a Representative refuses to listen to their constituents and refuses to educate themselves on an issue, they are requesting a return trip home.