Tech at Night: The big misconception about cable internet

Tech at Night

Time and again I’m seeing analyses from the left about broadband competition in America, that show a complete lack of awareness about how wired broadband actually works in America.

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Not all markets are created equal, and you have to understand how those markets work if you’re going to try to sound intelligent about the effects of mergers on competition.

Yeah, I’m talking about the Comcast – Time Warner Cable deal. Never mind the fact that this deal would bring more customers under the Net Neutrality consent decree Comcast entered into as a condition of the NBC Universal deal (and here we were told Net Neutrality was the key to Open Internet). Anyone who talks about market percentages with this deal just doesn’t get it.

For most of us, there is no actual market for cable Internet. We get exactly one choice, and that choice is determined entirely by local government officials. We get one cable Internet option, and one phone company DSL option. Other options tend to be more expensive or deploying slowly thanks to regulation, such as wireless, satellite, or fiber optic. Those options are great, and the future, but the technologies are still developing, maturing, and being built out to lower prices.

In the meantime competition is being hindered by government. Government ensures there is no market. So to talk about a percentage of the national market betrays a complete lack of understanding. If you’re in Murietta with one cable provider, it doesn’t matter whether some guy in Macon has the same or a different provider. It doesn’t help you at all.

Until we deregulate and increase competition, it’s all just a pretext for Eric Holder to grow government.

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Today’s outrageously long copyright terms are one of the greatest crony giveaways over the last few decades. I say that having voted for and missed the late Sonny Bono, who was overall a good Representative.

Speaking of crony giveaways, Democrats are backing their patent troll donors.

Netflix cares more about getting its free ride to ensure it doesn’t have to invest in faster Internet, than seeing the overall Net Neutrality/Open Internet order renewed. This isn’t about Net Neutrality. This is about picking winners and losers.

New York is regulating bitcoin, and it’s making a direct assault on pseudonymity.

Title II reclassification by FCC against ISPs would result in “regulatory chaos”, and this is from a company that’s asking for regulations.

If Edward Snowden is so sure he’d get acquitted, and would be fine with prison anyway, why wouldn’t he come back? Maybe he enjoys being the paid shill of the gay-bashing Vladimir Putin.

Democrats are still refusing to act on the Republican plan to stop tax hikes on Internet access. Which Democrats have often called a human right.

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