Jim Beam (yes, the whiskey maker) says we need broadband competition

What does a centuries-old whiskey company have to do with the Internet? A lot, it turns out. You don't often see bourbon makers rubbing elbows with telecommunication regulators, but Jim Beam made an exception when it sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission arguing that the agency needs to ensure that high-speed Internet remains plentiful, competitive and cheap.

"In our 200 years in operation, Jim Beam has learned a thing or two about the three 'b's,' bourbon, brands and business," the company wrote in a letter to the FCC. Now the company says it's adding a fourth "B" to the list: Broadband. From Jim Beam's Illinois headquarters to its Kentucky distilleries and restaurants, high-speed Internet is integral to the company's business. It uses smaller Internet providers in many of these facilities that might be threatened by larger carriers seeking to edge out the competition, Jim Beam says. So the company is pressing the FCC to make broadband competition a priority.