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Electricity was the big invention during the 20th century. The governments at that time took the measures that were necessary to ensure that electricity was available at reasonable prices to every citizen. This is the reason why electricity is such an integral part of any human civilization today.
Just like electricity was the biggest innovation in the 20th century, broadband internet is the biggest innovation now. It is for this reason that many people are of the opinion that just like electricity, the government should also make efforts to ensure that each human being has access to fast broadband at a reasonable price.
In this article, we will have a closer look at the policy of universal broadband. We will also list down the pros and cons of this policy.
A service can be called to be a universal service when it becomes the government’s responsibility to ensure its availability at a reasonable price. The call for universal broadband is being heard in most nations in the developed world.
The national government in the United Kingdom is considering whether to declare broadband as a universal service. Some local governments in the United States have already taken this step.
Consider the case of California, which has recently enacted the “Internet for All Now” act. Similar programs are also being undertaken in states like New York, Wisconsin, and Tennessee. Across the Atlantic Ocean, the European Union is also on the verge of implementing the universal broadband system.
Hence, any human being who does not have access to high-speed internet is at a disadvantage. They do not have access to a wide range of free services such as education and jobs because of the lack of internet.
This phenomenon has been named the “digital divide.” It means that opportunities are only concentrated in the hands of the urban people whereas the poor and the rural are left out. The biggest argument in favor of universal broadband is that it will help in the removal of this digital divide.
Also, with the advent of online shopping, consumers have access to a wide variety of goods and services once they are online. Hence, when the universal internet is implemented, the end result is the increase in competition. This exerts a downward pressure on the prices of goods and services which creates more efficiency in the economy.
There are many obvious advantages to having universal internet. However, there are also several disadvantages which are not as obvious. Let’s have a closer look at some of the disadvantages.
Critics of this policy want to ensure that the government only assists broadband companies if they agree to serve all the sectors in the nation. This means that in order to get government assistance, they will have to provide internet in areas where the market is small and underdeveloped.
In such areas, the cost of providing the service will be much more than the revenue received. This is the reason why there is a possibility that private firms will not co-operate with the government despite the allure of subsidies.
As a result, they are distorting the natural way in which markets distribute capital. The end result of this exercise will be that markets will end up allocating more capital to universal broadband projects.
This will be at the expense of better projects that will be left behind as a result of government interference. If the government wants to ensure that people have better access to broadband, it should reduce the regulation and taxation rather than explicitly interfering in the market’s process for rationing capital.
To sum it up, there are mixed reactions to the idea of universal broadband. Some people believe that it is a socialist policy that will make the government pay for private usage. On the other hand, others believe that this policy has the potential to bridge the huge urban-rural divide that prevails in the market today.
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