Let’s take the Internet back from the ISPs

You might have noticed that I’ve written about Google Fiber the last two weeks. That’s because I see Google attempting to affect a change similar to the movement from dial-up to DSL and cable circuits, however hobbled we may be at the moment by the restrictions of our relatively sluggish cable, DSL, and wireless connections. Let’s face it — when compared to a “broadband” connection pumping 2Mbps downstream and 512Kbps up, leaping to Google Fiber’s gigabit speeds would be like shifting from 33.6Kbps to a 2Mbps DSL pipe.

After my post ran last week, I read a story from Business Insider, which cited a Goldman Sachs report that determined the cost for Google to build out fiber across the country would be a staggering $140 billion. The story then cited Google’s war chest of $45 billion to show that Google couldn’t afford to build out nationally without putting itself into serious hock. That may be true, but I can’t help but draw parallels between the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System and what would essentially be the modern equivalent, but on a foundation of fiber, not asphalt. A build-out on that scale would provide a high-speed data pathway connecting the entire country, house by house, apartment by apartment.

[ Also on InfoWorld: Google Fiber puts the ISPs to shame | You’ll never get Google Fiber — but you don’t need it anyway | Why we need to win the battle for the ultrafast Internet | Get the latest practical info and news with Paul Venezia’s The Deep End blog and InfoWorld’s Data Center newsletter. ]

And it would only cost $140 billion? That’s substantially less than the cost of a single year of war in 2008. That sum would hook up nearly the entire country to gigabit fiber, fiber that could later be upgraded to higher speeds largely without touching the fiber itself. Permanent upgradeable high-speed connectivity.

I’m sure some of you reading this are already seething with cries of socialism, and how could we possibly expect the government to do something like that in this day and age. At the same time, others are citing failed government projects as examples of waste and graft. Both sides have a point.

You could certainly argue how in a free market, this would be done more efficiently by private enterprise. You might even say it would be less expensive. You’d be wrong — we’ve already tried that.

The big ISPs were given amazing sums of money to connect rural America to the Internet. They raided government funds for these build-outs, forced out the local competition, did a half-ass job of deploying “broadband,” and called it a day. It seems that the only thing they’re doing now is figuring out how to raise rates while providing ever crappier service.

The free market has failed the United States in terms of broadband deployment, precisely because there is no free market. The de facto regional monopolies are artificially constraining innovation and economic expansion in the United States due to the lack of competition.

To get back to the point, you might look at a giant government-driven project to deploy fiber across America as the interstate project in a different form, 60 years later. It’s a similar situation, with wars (hopefully) ending and returning veterans who might be available to fill vacancies for all manner of new jobs that would be created.

The Internet was started as a government project, and maybe the government should take it back or at least fund companies that actually deliver on their promises. That should automatically exclude the incumbent ISPs unless we drape regulators all over them. I dislike heavy government regulation as much as the next guy, but when you’re talking about the big ISPs, there’s sadly no other option. They’ve proven otherwise.

Try to imagine the United States today without interstate highways. With no way to get from one state to the next without driving local roads, interstate commerce would be slow, aggravating, and problematic, as it would be unfeasible to ship parts and equipment around the country quickly and easily. It would be a far cry from the United States of today, and I shudder to think of how it would work if we had regional monopolies building and controlling those roads.

Perhaps we should start to think about the future, much as Eisenhower did, and determine that a ubiquitous, extremely high-speed Internet is an absolute requirement to continue our economic and scientific growth. Based on recent history, we should determine that an interstate Internet system has to be funded by the taxpayers and built by private contractors.

Admit it: Bringing gigabit fiber to every doorstep would be far cheaper than a decade, or even a year of war — and vastly more rewarding.

This story, “Let’s take the Internet back from the ISPs,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Paul Venezia’s The Deep End blog at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.