Is the U.S. Government's Internet Policy Broken?: A Review of Captive Audience by Susan Crawford

Abstract:     
Professor Susan Crawford has just published an exciting new book on the future of high-speed Internet access in America. To hear Crawford tell it in 270 pages (excluding the copious footnotes), Americans should be worried because most of them will not have access to the fastest lane on the information superhighway. Indeed, only the rich will likely purchase high-speed Internet access because it will be too expensive for the rest of us.

At the risk of oversimplifying, Crawford's argument can be summarized in three sentences. Americans need really fast Internet. The market has failed to supply this Internet. Government needs to introduce a "utility model," where high-speed fiber is made available to everyone at reasonable prices.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 24

Keywords: Internet, monopoly, Susan Crawford

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