Brendan Harrigan​
​
Communication 200​ ​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
11/27/2018
Persuasive Speech
Internet Should be a Utility
Purpose: To persuade audience on why the internet should become a public utility.
Thesis: Although the internet is still growing,it needs to become a public utility for the future of
connection.
I.​
Introduction
A.​ Ask who uses electricity, water and the internet
B.​ Everyone used the internet but it is one of the only things that most use(isnt a
utility)
C.​ Without access we would not be able to learn or do things to the capacity of
today
D.​ I will be discussing why the internet needs to become a utility, how we can make
it become more accessible, and what life could be like with improved regulations.
First
II.​
Need
A.​ According to MerriamWebsterDictionary “A public utility is a company that operates as a
public-service corporation, and provides essential services to the public such as
electricity, telephone service, natural gas, water or postal services. The public utility is
typically regulated by the national, state or local government. “
1.​ These public utilities are usually adapted to situations in the economy where a
natural monopoly can exist
2.​ One such example of something becoming a public utility is standard oil fiasco
3.​ Competesmarternotharder.com said when regarding operation of rails
Rockefeller knew that he needed leverage – the railroad companies owned the
lines he needed to transport his oil, a classic strategic control point.
Consequently, he decided he needed an alternative – and built a network of oil
pipelines to circumvent the need to transport via rail. (keep this in mind)
B.​ Fast forward nearly 100 years later, these patterns can still be seen although more
secluded
1.​ In Current day internet there are multiple stages to data transmission
a.​ The 3 main network tiers are tier 1, tier 2, and the last mile
2.​ Everything starts at the tier 1 providers, these include vast stretches of fibre
optics that connect continents and use pulses of digital light for info
3.​ Chances are these are not owned by local companies but bigger ones such as
AT&T who lease to tier 2 providers
4.​ Most of the internet distributed to consumers is through tier 2 providers using
broadband and dsl because the infrastructure already exists
a.​ Neighborhood wires, poles and cables
​
C.​
According to HighSpeedInternet.com “Where your Internet bogs down
and service slows is when data passes from these neighborhood hubs into your home. The
telecommunications industry refers to this as “the last mile””.
1.​ The problem is while the neighborhood wires are public, the ancient
wires installed can be 100 years old or with broad band 60-70 year old
cables.
​
​
D.​
This is why the internet needs to shift toward a public utility, there is no
incentive for well established companies to work on these ancient lines as it brings no profit.
III.​
Satisfaction
A.​ The largest organization that has control over the pipelines of the internet is the FCC
and are trying to eliminate Net Neutrality Rules.
1.​ According to the Verge FCC chairman Ajit Pai said “The main problem consumers
have with the internet is not and has never been that their internet provider is
blocking access to content. It's been that they don't have access at all.”
2.​ Although broadly true, getting rid of rules only puts more power to tier 1 isp’s
and doesn’t fix any infrastructure
​
​
​
B. the new rules replacing Net Neutrality also prevent the FCC from establishing new
rules in the future on net neutrality effectively making them judge, jury, and executioner
1.​ Net neutrality is important because it further prevents the internet from becoming a
privatized utility
​
C. What we ultimately need to fix this issue is to place incentive in establishing new
infrastructure over customers last mile lines.
1.​ The tier 2 lines that go from neighborhood homes to the consumers should be treated
as public utility
2.​ Isp’s could be paid for the services they provide in upgrading infrastructure and holding
higher quality internet for each household
a.​ It would be almost the same as electricity, ISPs gain revenue through rates based
on the amount and quality of access they provide, while a percentage of
consumer money goes toward maintaining last mile infrastructure, the rest is
revenue for the company.
b.​ This can also allow the government to step in and provide grants to help with
infrastructure for new and existing companies as incentive.
c.​ One of the biggest arguments is that making the internet a public utility, we will
loose innovation. However, innovation is crushed by the fact that the internet is
already becoming a natural utility with 5G being a prime example there will be
very little area for competition
​
D. This would be one of many ways to include the internet as a public utility and this is
something already in the works
IV.​
Visualization
​
A.​
(because) According to ArsTechnica “A household analysis found a slightly better,
but still troubling, situation, with nearly half of the 118 million US households lacking any wired
Internet choice at the FCC's broadband standard of 25Mbps.”
1.​ Imagine if these people had access to the broadband standard of 25Mbps or
better yet the national average of about 60 Mbps.
2.​ Because without internet being a utility there would be no priority to do so.
​
B.​
Imagine if we didn’t have to choose between the few major isp’s that we have for
high speeds, and many of the tier 2 isp’s we have could provide high performance access
without the burden of leasing tier 1 networks
1.​ Instead of isp’s just handing down old deteriorated last mile networks, incentive could
be taken to replace infrastructure to gain revenue from the government and consumers.
C.​
Our future infrastructure overall could look better with the combined effort of
consumers, government, and ISP’s
1.​ Future business could be promoted by allowing new competition in starting up
an ISP
V.​
Action
​
A.​
From all of this evidence, the internet should become a public utility, we can
make it more accessible, and our future could be better with improved regulation.
​
B.​
Although the FCC currently makes regulations to shy away from public utilization
of the internet, the american people can still band together to help turn the internet into
something we can all use the same as electricity and water. (to)
​
C.​
help promote the internet into becoming a public utility you can contact the FCC
and voice your concerns or join a net neutrality organization such as the American Civil Liberties
Union (because)
​
D.​
this is what market share looks like now, this is what could happen to your
internet if we allow the major isp’s to retain all of the power over letting the internet be luxury.
and As Tim Wu, Columbia Law School professor, notes, "For 15 years, consumers have been
waiting for serious competition to arrive, yet there is now less competition than ever. It's time to
face facts: Broadband is a utility and ought to be treated as such by the Federal
Communications Commission."
References
Brodkin, J., & UTC. (2017, June 30). 50 million US homes have only one 25Mbps Internet
provider or none at all. Retrieved November 27, 2018, from
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/06/50-million-us-homes-have-only-one-25
mbps-internet-provider-or-none-at-all/
P. (2013, October 09). The Story of Vanderbilt's Hudson River Bridge. Retrieved November 26,
2018, from
https://competesmarternotharder.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/the-story-of-vanderbilts-hudson-rive
r-bridge/
Price, R. (2017, December 14). Portugal hints at what the American internet could eventually
look like without net neutrality. Retrieved November 27, 2018, from
https://www.businessinsider.com/net-neutrality-portugal-how-american-internet-could-look-fcc-2
017-11
Public Utility. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2018, from
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/public utility
Weida, K. (2017, October 24). Why can I only get a few Internet providers? Retrieved November
27, 2018, from
https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/why-can-i-only-get-a-few-internet-providers/