http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-the-internet-be-free Opposing Views - Should the Internet be Free? http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/markets-are-not-always-better-the-government-created-the-internet Claiming that "Markets -- Not Subsidies -- Give Us the Best Broadband Technologies" demonstrates a remarkable lack of knowledge about the history of the Internet.  The Internet itself was created by the government.  Since its creation... New America Foundation Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:23:28 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/markets-are-not-always-better-the-government-created-the-internet http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/government-control-bad-corporate-control-bad-ownerless-good I agree wholeheartedly with the author that government surveillance and control over the Internet is a horrible outcome.  Currently, widespread invasions of privacy are carried out through partnerships between the NSA and private corporations... New America Foundation Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:23:28 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/government-control-bad-corporate-control-bad-ownerless-good http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/personal-choice-is-not-harmed-by-adding-more-choices The number one reason people cite as to why they "choose to go without" is cost.  The entire point of providing free Internet is to eliminate this number one barrier.  Within a country where the necessity of connectivity has grown... New America Foundation Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:23:27 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/personal-choice-is-not-harmed-by-adding-more-choices http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/this-analysis-is-based-on-remarkably-flawed-data The data cited by the author reiterates information that even the FCC has declared to be In March, 2008, the FCC issued a report and order in response to their own 2007 notice of proposed rulemaking.  As the FCC itself stated ,[1] "In April... New America Foundation Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:22:55 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/this-analysis-is-based-on-remarkably-flawed-data http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/universal-internet-access-is-efficient-and-a-competitive-necessity At a time when the United States is falling further and further behind a growing list of more connnected countries, the necessity of jumpstarting our global competitiveness is growing.  Within a global service economy, countries with a... New America Foundation Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:59:08 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/universal-internet-access-is-efficient-and-a-competitive-necessity http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/civil-society-provides-for-its-constituents-and-fights-discrimination In much the same way that free access to primary education, parks and roads, and fire and police protection are fundamental aspects of living in a civil society, in an information age, universal access to the Internet is critically important. New America Foundation Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:10:00 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/civil-society-provides-for-its-constituents-and-fights-discrimination http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/communications-is-a-fundamental-human-right Supporting people's right to communicate is the responsibility of all civil society. In December of 1948, the United Nations passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . As the basis for much of today's international law, the Universal... New America Foundation Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:08:58 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/communications-is-a-fundamental-human-right http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/more-people-online-benefits-everyone-including-those-already-online Metcalfe posited that a network's value is proportional to the square of the number of nodes/users of that network. Whether you ascribe to Metcalfe's Law or some variant thereof, the reasoning is simple -- when more people use a telecommunications... New America Foundation Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:07:31 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/more-people-online-benefits-everyone-including-those-already-online http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/if-the-government-pays-for-the-internet-it-will-control-the-internet As the Internet has grown, so too has government’s desire to control its content and spy on user activity.  The PATRIOT Act, warrantless eavesdropping, and mandatory retention of user data are just a few examples of how the federal government... CEI Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:54:51 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/if-the-government-pays-for-the-internet-it-will-control-the-internet http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/markets-not-subsidies-give-us-the-best-broadband-technologies All subsidy schemes suffer from the same problem: government has no idea which investments will pay off in the long run.  This is no different for broadband. With a growing number of competing methods of delivering broadband to users, who knows... CEI Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:54:46 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/markets-not-subsidies-give-us-the-best-broadband-technologies http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/some-people-just-don-t-want-broadband In the past several years, broadband has grown in popularity, but it remains a luxury that more than 30% of Americans choose to go without—for many of these people, that’s a matter of choice.  Among the roughly 27% of adult Americans who do... CEI Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:54:43 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/some-people-just-don-t-want-broadband http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/broadband-is-growing-more-accessible-faster-and-cheaper Despite the constant stream of stories in the media painting a bleak picture of America’s broadband landscape, the evidence reveals a thriving marketplace for high-speed Internet access in the United States. Specifically, 95% of all homes... CEI Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:54:33 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/broadband-is-growing-more-accessible-faster-and-cheaper http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/access-to-free-broadband-is-key-to-americas-global-competitiveness The Internet has, in a relatively short period of time, become a vital part of American life. The resources available on the Internet enable Americans to be more productive and reach new markets around the globe. That is why broadband is not only a... John Muleta Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:54:30 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/access-to-free-broadband-is-key-to-americas-global-competitiveness http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/big-telecom-companies-are-preventing-fair-broadband-competition M2Z Networks is trying to bid on a section of spectrum up for auction by the FCC in order to build a free family-friendly wireless broadband network for all Americans. But the big telecom companies are trying to prevent the auction from taking place... John Muleta Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:54:28 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/big-telecom-companies-are-preventing-fair-broadband-competition http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/president-bush-set-a-goal-of-affordable-nationwide-broadband-by-2007 In 2004, President Bush set a goal of affordable nationwide broadband by 2007. Yet today, over 100 million Americans still lack access to broadband. America’s broadband Internet deployment goals are going unmet... John Muleta Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:54:26 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/president-bush-set-a-goal-of-affordable-nationwide-broadband-by-2007