Could anyone offer insight as to why internet in this day and age is not regulated like electricity or other utilities?
This was the obvious solution after the telecom act of '96. Many experts in the field said so much at the time. But the telecoms dug their heels, broke the law by locking out people from the DSLAMS, and used disinformation and lobbying to get the FCC to say it was O.K. to have a telecom-cable duopoly. This was also around the time that telecoms did everything they could, at the state level, to prevent cities from offering free city-wide internet [1].
This was the obvious solution after the telecom act of '96. Many experts in the field said so much at the time. But the telecoms dug their heels, broke the law by locking out people from the DSLAMS, and used disinformation and lobbying to get the FCC to say it was O.K. to have a telecom-cable duopoly. This was also around the time that telecoms did everything they could, at the state level, to prevent cities from offering free city-wide internet [1].
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_broadband#Controversy