DISQUS

Anon · 2 months ago

The Fins have seen the future and its wired. They may be faulted for overreaching ambition but is peaceful, it does not involve guns, and it does involve ebooks. In a short while, no one will care if the US is #38 or #56. It will simply be irrelevant. Who cares what the also-rans think about losing after all.

ShirleyGoodnessanMercy · 2 months ago

The Olympics chose Brazil over the US because of our shitty airports and we are behind Europe in trains, subways, health care, education, food safety and internet access. Is America best at anything anymore?

Pizza. Are we still ranked high in pizzas???

jixter · 2 months ago

Yes, Shirley, our pizza is a contender for the heavyweight crown but our junk-culture is unparalleled. Nobody does pop-crap like Americans. Nobody.

From junk-music to junk-food and then all the way down to our junk-religion, America is #1. Let's resolve to keep it that way, shall we?

Tysalpha · 2 months ago

Yeah because the airports in Brazil are fantastic. Sorry but Brazil doesn't have near the air traffic the US does, and way more accidents per passenger-mile. Europe is denser, so it takes less investment per capita for infrastructure. That's not an excuse for us letting ourselves fall behind. But it is a factor.

SCLiberal · 2 months ago

We are probably #1 in number of obese citizens.

libertydan · 2 months ago

The USA being a lot bigger than most European countries is probably a big factor, a lot more wire to lay. But the right to broadband? what a joke!

vrypan · 2 months ago

Defining something as a right does not necessarily mean the State provides it for free. But once you define it as such, the State should make sure everyone can have access to it. For example, if there are rural areas where it is not profitable for the private sector to offer the service, the State might subsidize part of the cost to make it viable for the ISPs. Or in the case of poor people, the State might pay for a good enough (1Mb?) broadband connection.

publicsteele · 2 months ago

I'm not comfortable with saying that broadband is a right, but investing in it is certainly one of the most cost effective ways to grow all business, big and small, and take a big bite out of poverty. Finnland, as a long time developed country, is one thing, but check out the broadband situation in South Korea, which also leads over the U.S, and the impact it has had on their economy and it's impact on poverty.

One of the reasons we lag is because we believed the phone and cable companies when they promised to invest in infrastructure as a trade off for being lax on anti-trust enforcement. They took the money but they never followed through and we have never demanded that they comply with their agreements.

Small government conservatives have also balked at investment at the Federal level: they believe, ignoring history, that the providers will improve their competitive leverage by investing in their own infrastructure, but as in all things with these yahoos, they fail to recognize that companies with subscribers make more money by providing less service (health care). Federal investment is imperative. Conservatives who bang the small business drum need to knock off the hypocrisy and get on board with national investment.

patb2009 · 2 months ago

is Broadband a public good, much like a sidewalk?

publicsteele · 2 months ago

It's a public good much bigger and better than a sidewalk because of it's massive scope and potential. I can sing and dance on the sidewalk for quarters in a hat but on the internet I can, potentially make a living doing the same thing, reaching millions of people.

vkobaya · 2 months ago

Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit! Profit!

Indigo · 2 months ago

Roads, bridges, highways, city streets, overpasses, even the few remaining railroads are all rusting away, coming loose, sometimes collapsing. I'm more concerned about our failing infrastructure than broadband. Broadband is good to have, safe bridges are even better.

CaptainFrogbert · 2 months ago

Competition!?! Innovation!?! What are ya, some kind of capitalist? In the god ol' US of A we believe in Corporate Cronyism and Corporate Socialism (privatize the profits, socialize the debt). You don't like it, move to some dark-skinned heathen country and get out of the greatest nation on Earth!

Damian · 2 months ago

Because of my rural home and to a much lesser extent, my Luddite wife, I am still using a dialup modem with a connection speed of less than half of the 56k the modem will supposedly do. I believe I read somewhere that in the case of broadband DSL (over existing phone lines), phone companies are currently charging an extra fee they were allowed to assess to cover the cost of infrastructure upgrade. This fee as I understand it is meant to facilitate broadband access via the upgraded infrastructure - ie. better "last-mile" lines and fiber cabling. So, where is my fast data rate and where does the money go instead?

patb2009 · 2 months ago

Boroaband isn't a right, but it is a public good.

Internet meets mosts of the tests of a public good,
perhaps this will inspire american government.

Of course most of the states have banned cities from building public internet infrastructure.

Laney Landry · 2 months ago

It seems insane that your neighbor might have fast access and you're stuck with dial up. It's the same with cells as my neighbor gets bars and I have none. Definitely need to move this country's technology ahead more.

avahome · 2 months ago

I live 30 miles So. of Houston and have AT$T phone provider.
We have only dialup available thru them. The phone lines do not support highspeed anything! I purchase high speed internet service thru a radio/satellite company $60/month.
I'll be dead before rural TX gets highspeed.

Corporations betray America · 3 weeks ago

Yes, it should be a right. And if the DOJ had the balls, they should take Comca$t thru anti-trust laws.