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Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'

news.bbc.co.uk

41–42 of 42 posts

Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'

#41
post #15

It's nice to see some governments recognizing that something which was once a luxury is now becoming a necessity as offline alternative for mandatory services (paying bills, job searching, etc) get stripped down or removed entirely.

A car used to be a luxury, now it's a necessity. Do you think owning a car is a legal right?

I live in Portland, so I'm questioning your premise off the bat. :) I'd say freedom of movement and the ability to reasonably exercise that freedom is the right, which governments legally support by creating/maintaining/policing the roads.

Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'

#42
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Free markets and unbridled competition have a much better track record of driving prices down, making new technologies available to the masses. In industries with a high barrier to entry, the market naturally tends away from competition. Broadband is one such industry, due to the enormous initial infrastructure costs.

> In industries with a high barrier to entry, the market naturally tends away from competition. Broadband is one such industry, due to the enormous initial infrastructure costs. Maybe things are different where you live, but the bandwidth / price ratio has increased over 400% in the past 4 years for me where I live. Not a single website was blocked because the greedy corporation didn't want me to see it. Perhaps a fe…

What is your point? From your post, I'm going to assume you live in the US. If so, you should know that your broadband access is the result of heavy government regulation.
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