Is the Internet a Utility?

What’s your monthly internet bill look like? We are cordcutters in my house, so to facilitate our dozen streaming apps we pay for a ‘Turbo’ internet plan which promises download speeds of 20 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 Mbps. Netflix recently launched fast.com, a quick way to measure current download speeds, and it verifies that I’m getting my $60+ worth of internet each month. I also have no data cap, which is important because in January and February my household consumed more than 1TB of data (though we’re on track for just 600-700 GB in June).

I feel like I’m one of the lucky ones. I pay a not-outrageous price for a utility that delivers what it promised, and it allows us to watch, work and play simultaneously. Turns out, my service lags behind the national average. At the end of last year, the FCC reported that the national average internet speed at the end of 2014 was 31 Mbps.

My internet service provider is considered the best performing ISP in the state, but is typically vilified by consumers. After a recent merger a with lessor competitor, I’m worried my underaverage-yet-adequate internet service may suffer the effects. There is little to stop them, as in my county I only have access to one ISP, and the only other option is a mobile hotspot from a cell carrier, which has clear drawbacks.

Because of this natural monopoly, many people support the classification of internet services as a utility. In February 2015, the FCC established internet service as a quasi-utility. It used rules meant to regulate phone networks to say ISPs couldn’t discriminate between types of data traffic. However, no regulations about how ISPs price or provide services, or maintain or engineer networks, were established, which is the norm with other utilities.

Even though I’m worried about the leverage my ISP has on my services, I’m not sure if the internet is a utility. While it’s definitely important, the internet isn’t as essential as water, and it doesn’t quite have the significance of electricity, gas or public transportation either. These industries are regulated because the costs of building and operating a second option just don’t make sense. Yet in many markets, even in counties neighboring my own, two or more ISPs are operating.

Also, industries that are utilities are usually some of the worst performing. In 2013, ASCE gave America’s aging infrastructure a grade of D+, meaning on the whole it is slightly better than poor. The report covered energy, schools, parks, transit, roads, railroads, ports, inland waterways, bridges, aviation, wastewater and solid waste, levees and dams, hazardous waste, and drinking water. There is little evidence that municipalization will improve internet services.

Nonetheless, consumers such as myself shouldn’t be forced into a one-or-none scenario for internet service. And as internet access becomes arguably only more important, some oversight might be critical.

The majority of CR4 users are engineers and also use an ISP for access to this forum. I’d be interested if you feel the internet is better left in the hands of private companies or a utility.