Net Neutrality

The internet is really, really great.

The internet, in it's simplest form, allows for people who have very little to feel as though they have everything. That's because they have access to almost anything, via the internet.

The internet could be many things: what it is to me, is a source of information, entertainment, and communication that is better, faster, and more efficient than anything humans have ever had before.

Many people have grown up with that benefit - with that tool. Many people depend on access to the internet to be productive, stable members of society, including myself.

...I don't know how to fully articulate how important equal and untainted access to the internet is.

That's always been one of my weaknesses - effective communication, in person. Taking time to go and start a conversation where there needs to be one, or simply making my point without seeming defensive or overbearing. I know I don't have much influence over the vast majority of the world. That's not at all the issue - my weakness doesn't show up here.

The issue is the writing on the wall. Those who do have the resources and influence can't seem to see it when it matters. The writing says, "internet access is a basic human right." Almost all human beings have some access to electronic technology, and the software that allows us to connect to the internet is a circumstance of the proliferation of that technology. Therefore, by sheer saturation, we all have the right to access the internet, and that access need not favor some over others.

In most of rural America, there is no reliable internet access. Sure, we have satellite technology which helps alleviate that situation, but reliable is the keyword here. Already there is a glaring inequality between those who live in urban and rural areas. Then, to make matters worse, even those in urban areas don't have many choices when it comes to who provides access to the internet.

Net neutrality isn't just about throttling speeds, and choosing favorite outlets over outliers, it's about provisions, access, and market saturation. Investment in internet infrastructure should come at a short-term loss, while the long-term benefits will provide ample reasons to get started now.

If I were an internet provider, I would be putting massive amounts of capital into rural fiber infrastructure, simply because the long-term returns (even at sub-marginal subscriber rates) massively outweigh the loss of profit that is happening due to inactivity, apathy, and general mismanagement.

Let's run a quick case study.

Assuming it costs $13,000 per mile to run a fiber cable (which is already a high estimate), and we want to go from the Pottsboro, TX hub to Highport Marina along highway 289, which is 7 miles, it costs $91,000 to lay the line. Let's round that up to $100k for argument's sake.

Let's also assume there are roughly an average of 10 subscribing customers per mile of line, each paying $100 per month for their internet service. That's $1,000 per month, or $12,000 per year for fiber service to a rural community.

The investment pays for itself after 8 years and 4 months. After that, the subscription pays for maintenance, upgrades, and expansion for that area.

Here's where I think many business leaders get caught up: Where's the profit margin?

The profit margin comes when/if Pottsboro grows into a major urban area, much like what happened in Richardson, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, and even Sherman. The spine of the infrastructure has already been paid for and placed, and now with a solid subscriber base and an expanding potential market, it's much easier to acquire additional capital to pay for more fiber. That's where the profit margin enters into the picture. It's obvious urban areas are more profitable than rural areas, but with the internet, you can't discriminate.

So instead of getting caught up in the mindset of constant profit/growth, I'd like to see leaders make decisions based on merit and long-term provisions.

Which circles us back around to net neutrality. If we allow ourselves to get caught up in making as much money as possible in the short-term, we will erode our source of profit entirely. Future generations will be left with nothing. Why make all of this technological progress if we're just going to throw it all away?

The result of this fight for neutrality should be that even more people have access to the internet, and that all of us should be free to use it fairly and equally as a constitutional right.