US Shouldn't Back Down To Telcos

If the US government and taxpayers allow the telecommunications industry to dictate the terms under which they receive $4.7 billion now and much more later in broadband stimulus money, then the government and the taxpayers deserve what they get, which won’t be much.

We’ve learned this expensive lesson already. In 1996, the US government forked over 7,000 percent SMS markups.

So now there’s broadband stimulus money up for grabs, intended to stretch broadband out to rural areas where only dial-up or expensive satellite connections are available. Keeping good on a commitment to open networks, the Obama Administration via the Commerce Department and Congress