The Federal Communication Commission is on track to make Internet free all in the United States.  This month they plan to take final action on the plan.  It has been recognized that the Internet is now the single most important source for accessing information and creating competition.  Yes, that is right informed consumers are better able to obtain the best price and service.   While free would be beneficial for everyone we all must be realistic to what is define as free.  Free means there will be a limit to what is offered.

I recommend that the policy be written so that it evolves on its own.  For instance, the policy should read “  The speed for downloading and the amount of bandwidth for the free service shall be no less than 20% of the speed and bandwidth that individuals purchase as a paid service from a provider”.  This will allow the free service to automatically upgrade as technology changes increase the ability to offer higher speeds and bandwidth for paid services.

Too many times regulations are written as if no change is ever expected to happen. Since it takes so much time and money to make changes even when it makes sense, why not write regulations or law that can evolve base on the market place.

The regulations and laws should not create a trap for consumers where they must buy the Internet connection because it is barely functional under the free service. It is just another barrier,  even if it is barely visible it still hurts.

(pics by Kosmar.ipernity.com, mollali, and shootin’ the breeze)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 at 12:01 am and is filed under Public Policy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.