For bragging rights, the U.S. government often cites its role in the invention of the Internet. But Bill Moyers, in an edition of Moyers & Company this week, wonders how it is that “many other countries offer their citizens faster and cheaper access than we do.” He interviews Susan Crawford, author of the book Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age, in which she points out that most Americans are still plugged in with outdated broadband connections rather than the much faster fiber optic technology. An additional 19 million Americans have no access at all to a high-speed Internet connection. Why? Too much support for a monopolized industry and not enough support for consumers, she argues.
Please consider supporting our work.
I hope you found this article important. Before you leave, I want to ask you to consider supporting our work with a donation. In These Times needs readers like you to help sustain our mission. We don’t depend on—or want—corporate advertising or deep-pocketed billionaires to fund our journalism. We’re supported by you, the reader, so we can focus on covering the issues that matter most to the progressive movement without fear or compromise.
Our work isn’t hidden behind a paywall because of people like you who support our journalism. We want to keep it that way. If you value the work we do and the movements we cover, please consider donating to In These Times.
Amien Essif is a regular contributor to Working In These Times and maintains a blog called The Gazine, which focuses on consumerism, gentrification, and technology with a Luddite bent. His work has also appeared on the Guardian and CounterPunch. You can find him using Twitter reluctantly: @AmienChicago
