Want Cheaper Internet? Big Tech Should Pay Their Fair Share

Seton Motley

by Seton Motley, Contributing Author: Everyone wants cheaper…everything. Everyone wants more for less.

Because…human nature.

But almost everything costs money. So we must pay for almost everything.

Our connection to the Internet costs money. Since the World Wide Web’s mid-1990s private sector inception, United States’ Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have invested nearly $2 trillion creating, building, maintaining and expanding our networks.

ISPs would like to get that money back, please. Plus a little something, you know, for the effort. Because “a little something for the effort” – aka profit – is the only way we humans have improved our otherwise nasty, poor, brutish and short existences.

And our Internet connections – are an ever-increasing bargain. Our price-per-bit of data – has dropped through the floor…and continues to go down.

There has all-along-the-way been another way to reduce We the Users’ ISP fees. But ISPs have never implemented it.

Because ISPs have been rightly, reasonably concerned about being attacked by the same Leftist mobs that are currently destroying cities all across the country.

There are two pools of people ISPs can charge for the bandwidth they use:

We the Users – and the monstrous bandwidth hog Big Tech companies.

Big Tech?

Apple (Market Cap: $1.6 trillion)

Microsoft (Market Cap: $1.5 trillion)

Amazon (Market Cap: $1.3 trillion)

Alphabet (Google’s parent company) (Market Cap: $938 billion)

Facebook (Market Cap: $610 billion)

As you know from looking at this Big Tech list – these companies use a LOT of bandwidth.

The history of the Internet – is one of monstrous bandwidth hog Big Tech companies NOT being charged for the monstrous bandwidth they use.

Which means the history of the Internet – is one of We the Users paying more to subsidize Big Tech’s monstrous bandwidth use.

Why have ISPs given monstrous Big Tech companies this monster pass? Because they have feared the Leftist mobs – funded for many years by Big Tech – screeching and attacking them about the titanically stupid policy known as Network Neutrality.

Net Neutrality is really stupid policy – for a whole host of reasons. For our purposes today, we’ll focus on but one:

Net Neutrality prohibits ISPs from charging Big Tech for bandwidth usage.

Which is why Big Tech has spent so many years paying the Leftist mobs to screech about Net Neutrality.

Which is why – despite Net Neutrality only being actual regulation for about one year (since repealed) – ISPs have never charged Big Tech for all the bandwidth they use.

No ISP wanted to be overrun by the Leftist mobs. No one wanted to become the digital version of CHAZ.

Enter Charter Communications….

Charter Seeks FCC Nod to Charge Video Streamers:

“Charter Communications wants permission to begin charging Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+ and other streamers for the pleasure of efficiently carrying its traffic.

“In a petition this past week to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the nation’s second-largest provider of cable TV and internet services cited the flourishing online video marketplace and asked for a sunset of two notable conditions imposed on Charter’s 2016 merger with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.”

Charter has to ask the government permission to engage in Economics 101 – charging people for things they use – because of another obnoxious Leftist practice: merger agreement “conditions.” Where government can’t get bad law passed – so they force merging companies to agree to bad law imposed upon them piecemeal as a condition of merger approval.

Charter was thus force fed Net Neutrality. So they now must ask for a waiver from that obnoxious “condition.”

What does Charter want to do? Charge a bunch of online video streaming services – for using the monstrous bandwidth they use to be online video streaming services.

Imagine Charter were a chain of gas stations. And the fear of Net Neutrality Leftist mobs – had long prohibited them from charging box trucks and eighteen wheelers for the fuel they use. Which means we have been paying much more to fuel or little passenger cars – and in gas taxes to maintain and build the roads – to subsidize the trucks and tractor-trailers.

Charter wishes to infuse a little sanity.

This Big Tech video giveaway – has been a MASSIVE. Nothing comes close to the bandwidth used by video. It’s an endless caravan of eighteen wheelers – steamrolling down the Information Superhighway.

Netflix and (Google’s) YouTube Make Up Majority of US Internet Traffic, New Report Shows

How can Netflix afford to spend more than $17 billion on content in 2020 – including a cool $50 million for the Net Neutrality-pushing Obamas – while only charging $8 or $10 per subscription?

By having you subsidize the delivery of their product – whether or not you purchase their product. You’re paying more for your tiny Internet connection – to subsidize Netflix’s MASSIVE free Internet connection.

It’s not unlike….

Why the Post Office Gives Amazon a $1.46 Subsidy on Each Box

Where We the Taxpayers mass-subsidize the world’s richest human Jeff Bezos – whether or not we order from his Amazon.

Here’s hoping the Donald Trump FCC – which repealed the Barack Obama FCC’s Net Neutrality imposition – grants Charter the waiver.

And here’s hoping Charter’s singular move – very quickly becomes industry standard practice.

Where ISPs everywhere charge Big Tech bandwidth hogs – for being bandwidth hogs.

This would be a huge infusion of cash – from the world’s richest companies – LOTS of which would be used for continued massive investment in our networks.

Leaving We the Users FINALLY rightly ordered in the “People Paying for the Things They Use” Internet economic ecosystem.

WAY behind the heretofore freeloading Big Tech companies.

Big Tech companies – FINALLY – paying something…means We the Users can pay less.
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Seton Motley is the President of Less Government and he contributes articles to ARRA News Service. Please feel free to follow him him on Twitter   /   Facebook.

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