Blocking Comcast Is a Start. But if We Want Better Broadband, We Need Much More.

[Commentary] Killing the Comcast deal just maintains the status quo. And when it comes to broadband Internet in the US, the status quo is pretty lousy: Most people who want high-speed access are stuck with a single provider, with no incentive to provide better speeds, quality or service. There’s no way we’d settle for a monopoly or duopoly for wireless service, but somehow we’ve become so used to the situation that there’s almost no complaint about it for broadband. It’s also why it initially seemed like Comcast’s bid would get approved: The company argued, correctly, that if it bought Time Warner Cable it wouldn’t be reducing competition for broadband -- because there wasn’t any competition to begin with.

Enter Google. So far the company’s limited forays into super-fast Internet delivery (it’s in three cities now, with another half-dozen or so to come) have done exactly what Google has said they wanted them to do -- force incumbents to improve their products. It’s hard to imagine Google actually pushing Fiber through America, and creating real competition city by city. But it’s harder to imagine any other solution. And we need something.