Sascha Sega
WHO NEEDS PROTECTION? Reading Pai’s statements, there’s a pure question of worldview here. In his writing, we live in a nation where hundreds of small Internet service providers and innovative wireless companies are thirsting to build and compete. Only government regulation is holding them back. By taking a light touch, the FCC can ensure that innovative new VHUYLFHV ÀRXULVK UDWKHU WKDQ EHLQJ IRUFHG LQWR ROG paradigms. But that’s not the nation most of us live in. Most Americans are under the thumb of monopoly cable companies and have nowhere else to turn for home broadband. Even when cities beg for competition, nobody’s building it: New York City formed an agreement with Verizon to provide FiOS across the city years ago, but Verizon still doesn’t offer it as an option to every resident. 5G could offer an answer, but not if all of the upstart 5G providers merge with the existing cable giants. Pai’s greatest task is going to be to manage the balance of power between consumers, content providers and ISPs. His greatest fear is of a heavy-handed government crushing private innovation into a gray smnk ear. But if the crusher is a private corporation, does he have a response? sascha_segan@pcmag.com
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5G could offer an answer, but not if all of the upstart 5G providers merge with the existing cable giants.