In the ultimate sign that making TWC back down is a good move politically, Chuck Schumer is now trying to take credit for the whole thing.
-- DougJ/Balloon Juice
It's funny because it's true. Shoutout to Congressman Eric Massa. And boo-hiss to Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, whom I usually like.
If you care about your Internets, you should definitely read the whole thing, and follow the links within to the fine posts over at Fighting29th.com.
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[Added] And here is a good article in the NYT, linked to from one of Fighting29th's posts, comparing Japanese and American broadband network upgrades. We are falling behind, people.
And don't let the glibertarians and the telcos' Astroturf stooges snow you about the "free market." In most places in the US, the local ISP situation is at best a duopoly; in many places, it is a monopoly. There is little or no choice for consumers. As the article makes clear, the telcos are already making bank by selling Internet access. Their bleating about upgrade costs to handle increased and faster traffic are largely the sort of stuff that comes out of the rear end of a bull.
The article mentions something else I have heard on the tech podcasts I listen to: another reason the cable companies in particular are dragging their feet on upgrading their networks, not to mention trying to cap how much their customers can download, is that a faster Internet means more people watching TV online, which means more people canceling their cable TV service. Not to go all SOCIALIST!!!1! on you, but when the company that controls the pipes is also in the business of selling content, especially when it's the only game in town, it's time to think long and hard about the wisdom of letting them do both.
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