Politics

Expert Cites Media Giant for High Cost,Slow Internet

A Telecommunications expert says media giant, Comcast, is making broadband internet access too expensive and slower than it should be. Susan Crawford, author of a new book called, Captive Audience, says the government decided 15 years ago there would be adequate competition for internet service to let the marketplace determine accessibility and cost. But company’s like Comcast and a handful of others have come to dominate the marketplace. “Comcast is the second largest advertiser in the country. Second only to Proctor & Gamble, spending billions on advertising. It is the largest broadband distributor. It’s also a 100-billion dollar company at this point, it’s bigger that Home Depot and McDonalds. It’s able to bundle all the offers together. It just decides how much people are going to spend for them. It’s subject to no oversight.” Crawford claims Comcast has become politically influential on the state, local and national level, making legislative reform impossible. Crawford argues the internet should be treated like electricity or phone service in their formative years, with the government regulating access and price.