Whacky Weekend: Is Internet Access a Human Right?

Thu Jan 5 15:47:56 UTC 2012

On 5 January 2012 15:22, Jay Ashworth <jra at baylink.com> wrote:

> Understand: I'm not saying that FiOS should be a human right.  But as a
> society, America's recognized for decades that you gotta have a telephone,
> and subsidized local/lifeline service to that extent; that sort of subsidy
> applies to cellular phones now as well.
>
>
There is a subtlety here too - when we grant a monopoly (e.g. to operate a
physical loop or in licensing spectrum) in return we often place a
"universal service obligation" on the operator in order they don't abuse
their monoply by not providing service to "less profitable" customers.

This isn't the same as a "right" to a phone.

Aled