Why Broadband Service in the US Is So Awful

[Commentary] The average US household has to pay an exorbitant amount of money for an Internet connection that the rest of the industrial world would find mediocre. The consequences are far worse than having to wait a few extra seconds for a movie to load.

Because broadband connections are the railroads of the 21st century -- essential infrastructure required to transmit products (these days, in the form of information) from seller to buyer -- our creaky Internet makes it harder for U.S. entrepreneurs to compete in global markets. Phone companies have to compete for your business. Even though there may be just one telephone jack in your home, you can purchase service from any one of a number of different long-distance providers. Not so for broadband Internet. Here consumers generally have just two choices: the cable company, which sends data through the same lines used to deliver television signals, and the phone company, which uses older telephone lines and hence can only offer slower service.

Yet, puzzlingly, the Federal Communications Commission wants to take only a half-step. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has said that although he regards the Internet as a telecommunications service, he does not want to bring in third-party competition. It is frustrating to see Chairman Genachowski acknowledge that the U.S. has fallen behind so many other countries in its communications infrastructure and then rule out the most effective way to reverse the decline. We call on the FCC to take this important step and free the Internet.