Letters to the Editor
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Incentives
ISTR that the U.S. telecom industry made a pitch to the government back in the 1990's: They claimed they needed tax breaks to finance a new fiber-to-the-home infrastructure that would support 45 megabit residential service.
They got tax breaks that ultimately totaled $200 billion, and we got 1 megabit DSL over ancient copper wires. The telecoms are rolling in money, and the U.S. has fallen to 15th place in broadband penetration.
Now the telecoms are finally working on fiber-to-the-home, but this is a new effort for which we're going to pay again, this time by giving the telecoms absolute control over how those connections may be used.
What did we get for $200 billion in tax incentives? Nothing.