<story><title>Court upholds New York law that says ISPs must offer $15 broadband</title><url>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/04/court-upholds-new-york-law-that-says-isps-must-offer-15-broadband/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>singlow</author><text>I think the logic here is that the government has already subsidized them by granting privileges to use public infrastrucure that was built with tax dollars. There can only be so many wires running on the poles or under the streets so in return for that privilege, you have to provide this in return.</text></item><item><author>infecto</author><text>Serious question here. Is this law more or less stating that the business gets no revenue back from local or state government? I have no issue with the argument that internet service is a basic right but if that is the case, I would expect the government to either offer the service or pay a market&amp;#x2F;agreed price to cover the cost for low income users.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>hughesjj</author><text>Not even granting public infra, we straight up paid BILLIONS for them to expand broadband coverage and the ISP&amp;#x27;s didn&amp;#x27;t do jack most of the time&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.huffpost.com&amp;#x2F;entry&amp;#x2F;verizon-pennsylvanias-com_b_7532008&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.huffpost.com&amp;#x2F;entry&amp;#x2F;verizon-pennsylvanias-com_b_7...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; By the end of 2003, Teletruth estimates that every household in Pennsylvania has paid in excess of $1,135.00 for a fiber optic service they will never get. Teletruth estimates that the total overcharging to be $3.9 billion or more in excess profits, tax deductions, and other financial perks, including funding other business ventures through cross-subsidization.&lt;p&gt;And it&amp;#x27;s far from just PA&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;newnetworks.com&amp;#x2F;bookbrokenpromises&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;newnetworks.com&amp;#x2F;bookbrokenpromises&amp;#x2F;&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>Court upholds New York law that says ISPs must offer $15 broadband</title><url>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/04/court-upholds-new-york-law-that-says-isps-must-offer-15-broadband/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>singlow</author><text>I think the logic here is that the government has already subsidized them by granting privileges to use public infrastrucure that was built with tax dollars. There can only be so many wires running on the poles or under the streets so in return for that privilege, you have to provide this in return.</text></item><item><author>infecto</author><text>Serious question here. Is this law more or less stating that the business gets no revenue back from local or state government? I have no issue with the argument that internet service is a basic right but if that is the case, I would expect the government to either offer the service or pay a market&amp;#x2F;agreed price to cover the cost for low income users.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>legitster</author><text>Governments already charge ISPs to use said infrastructure:&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.fcc.gov&amp;#x2F;sites&amp;#x2F;default&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;ad-hoc-commitee-survey-04242018.pdf&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.fcc.gov&amp;#x2F;sites&amp;#x2F;default&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;ad-hoc-commitee-surv...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;So for those poles running down the street in front of your house, ISPs are already paying ~$20 per pole per year. Places like NYC probably also take a cut of the revenue on top. In some regions, this is the primary gatekeeper against competition!&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s really hard to argue that this is a subsidy - if anything it&amp;#x27;s the municipalities using the power of their natural monopoly.</text></comment>