White House Report Says Broadband Is a “Core Utility” ⇥ arstechnica.com

Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica:

Broadband Internet service “has steadily shifted from an optional amenity to a core utility” and is now “taking its place alongside water, sewer, and electricity as essential infrastructure for communities,” says a report released by the White House yesterday.

The report was written by the Broadband Opportunity Council, which was created by President Obama and is chaired by the heads of the Commerce and Agriculture departments. In an accompanying blog post, the White House touted Obama’s “leadership” in expanding broadband access but said that nearly 51 million Americans still cannot purchase wired broadband with download speeds of at least 25Mbps.

Once again, I quote Elliot Jay Stocks:

PayPal have all the power of a bank and yet none of the responsibility.

Replace “PayPal” with “ISPs” or “communications providers”, and “bank” with “utility”, and it’s still accurate. Internet service has become as much a fabric of life as electricity; it is time to regulate it as such.