Hi. Name's Chris Campbell. I'm 27, not a Republican. And I'm pro net neutrality, but anti-Title II.
And... no... I'm not a shill for the ISPs.
I recognize that all of our ISPs have turned into sweltering monopolistic scum.
But guess what? It's not their fault. I'll explain what I mean by this in a moment.
You see, I don't believe that net neutrality is a federal issue. We don't need the government to step in and save us.
We do not need FCC oversight.
A grassroots movement would accomplish far more with far less.
Before I dive into that, federal regulation of ISPs sets a dangerous precedent. One that I hope even the most naive of us can understand.
We need the government to let go.
Again, this is not a federal issue. It's one to be fought at home.
And it's easy.
Put pressure on local governments to stop forcing kickbacks from these ISPs in exchange for blocking competition.
Your local government has corrupted your Internet. Not the cable companies. They're just enjoying the perch.
Force your local government to drop the "build out" rules -- which require competitors to spend massive amounts of money and build massive amounts of infrastructure before they can even service one customer.
Nobody in their right mind would invest that much money before they can sign up a single customer. It's lunacy.
It has created a system of forced kickbacks.
Our local governments force ISPs to build out service where there's no demand... they make them donate equipment at will... and they have them deliver free broadband to government buildings.
In exchange, they shut out competition by creating obstacles that make it completely unprofitable to compete.
No competition makes it easier for local governments to charge onerous fees on "rights of way" access to pole attachment contracts.
No competition also means, for you, shitty service and exorbitant fees.
It's a vicious circle. And there's lots of money to be made in shitty service.
Once we stop this on a local level, and the money stops rolling in, there will be incentive to start fostering competition. And then, once that happens...
You won't want to choke your cable guy anymore.
The power to change this bullsh*t begins with you. NOT the government. They'll only gum up the works.