Susan Crawford, Bloomberg:

The Internet has taken the place of the telephone as the world’s basic, general-purpose, two-way communication medium. All Americans need high-speed access, just as they need clean water, clean air and electricity. But they have allowed a naive belief in the power and beneficence of the free market to cloud their vision. As things stand, the U.S. has the worst of both worlds: no competition and no regulation.

An interesting analysis of why things have turned out as they have for the average American Internet user. Crawford wants to see 1Gb fiber to the house standard throughout the country, instead of the paltry 4Mb goal offered by the FCC’s National Broadband Plan. How slow is your Internet connection, and how much do you pay for the privilege?