The battle for control of the Internet

THE BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: TimesOnline, AUTHOR: Jonathan Weber, founder NewWest.Net]
[Commentary] The never-ending battles over communications regulation are one of Washington DC's least edifying spectacles. The issues are arcane, the corporate stakes are high, and as a result the "public interest" generally takes a back seat to the maneuverings of the well-funded lobbying machines of the broadcasters, the phone companies and, increasingly, the Internet industry. In principle, robust competition would make all of these issues go away. If you have a lot of choice in where you get your news and information (as you do now on a national level but no so much for locally) you wouldn't need rules on media ownership. If you have multiple choices on Internet service providers, you could opt for the one that had rules to your liking. (These is still some hope that cable and phone companies won't have a total duopoly on Internet access ­ here in Missoula we just got a new provider offering broadband services based on WiMax wireless technology, and personally I'm delighted about that). If you want a cellphone provider that lets you hook up whatever you want to the network and doesn't make you use their phones, well, hopefully there will be some of those. But the history of these businesses suggests that competition won't happen by itself. In communications, there tend to be massive economies of scale, so companies are always looking to consolidate. One can only hope that the lobbying wars leave just al little bit of space for the public interest.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/articl...