July 06, 2005
Science & Technology:
E-Tax
By PennywitIn his "Random Access" column, Washington Post reporter reports on a 'Net tax proposal that's floating around Congress:
Don't rush out and start dumping fiber-optic cable in the nearest harbor, mind you. A new tax to subsidize rural high-speed Internet access is still at the discussion phase in Washington. According to early news reports, Internet service providers would be responsible for collecting such a tax, which means that it probably would show up in your monthly Internet service bill.
It would be collected through in the same manner as the Universal Service Fund, which is used to extend phone service to rural areas.
It sounds like a worthy measure, but I'm not sure it's the best way to bring broadband to the boonies, especially considering how fast technology changes. What happens if broadband is brought to rural areas ... just in time for the technology used to be rendered out-of-date?
Posted by Pennywit at 03:09 on 6 July 2005You know, if someone decides to live in the middle of no where with no services...thats their problem. I'm sick of subsidizing speading development into areas such as these because people must use every little piece of land available. If you choose to live in the middle of west Texas desert...then get a satellite. If fiber-optic cable providers want to offer that service then charge those customers for that service, not me. Where I live they can serve 2.5 million people at once. Not 100 here and then 100 there....spread all over the place. The cost of extending services like this, and water/ wastewater/ electric is staggering when the service is just for a small amount of people and a long way from anywhere else.
Posted by: Sinequanon at July 6, 2005 06:22 AM
