Humble Pai: New FCC supremo promises long overdue transparency The new chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, has come good on a promise to modernize the regulator by getting rid of its most infuriating habit: secret orders. For reasons that have never been adequately explained, the FCC maintains an arcane procedure where its documents are kept secret until FCC …
Here in Sweden, I can get 250Mbps/100Mpbs (FTTH) for the equivalent of ~$40/month (I am still on 100/10 though, signed up some years ago). VPN and VoIP service included (call charges excluded).
This is thanks to shared infrastructure (the city-wide fiber network) and (actual) competition among the ISP's for the service.
A tendency to de-regulate, but not necessarily UNDER-regulate, AND adding transparency to the process, is very good news.
Though the article gave too much credit to Bill Clinton. Most of that de-regulation came under his 2 predecessors, Reagan and Bush I, PARTICULARLY with respect to the so-called "fairness doctrine" (which was just a way of KILLING actual free speech by over-defining it in a VERY controlling manner).
By the way, it is that old "fairness doctrine" concept that should keep privacy and freedom advocates wary of *ANY* attempt at regulating the intarwebs by gummints. We already see the 'bamboo curtain' and attempts by Russia and islamic countries to "censor the internet". So there are precedents, yeah.
All in all I'd say the FCC is moving in the right direction. Any attempt at 'net neutrality' in the future is likely to come from CONGRESS, rather than a small number of bureaucrats in secret meeetings with unknown influences thrown in for good measure.
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