I agree but unlike electricity or water where quality of service is regulated (water quality etc) internet service is not.
We would need some sort of regulation to force ISPs to provide a pipe that doesn't suffer random packet loss or connection problems. In addition you would need some way to make ISP upgrade to better pipes or you will be stuck with 56k for ever.
I believe all new homes in the US are now equipped with a minimum if a 200A circuit by law which would equate to your internet speed minimum being regulated.
> I agree but unlike electricity or water where quality of service is regulated (water quality etc) internet service is not.
It is very regulated. Starting a new utility that relies on public property (easements for landlines or spectrum for over the air) requires cutting an epic amount of red tape. In fact, it is such a messing process that only the very politically well connected companies can even consider entering the market.
It's definitely regulated. It just isn't regulated in the way that you want.
Big difference is that most households in a neighborhood use about the same amount of water or the same amount of electricity. I'd feel safe saying that 95% of my neighbors fall within a factor of 2 of my usage.
Water and electricity usage is also very predictable.
But Internet usage can vary a lot between households and between days. I could easily see there being quite a few people consuming a factor of 10 less bytes than me and also there being some number using a factor of 3 or so more than me, and this can also change a lot from one day to the next.
We would need some sort of regulation to force ISPs to provide a pipe that doesn't suffer random packet loss or connection problems. In addition you would need some way to make ISP upgrade to better pipes or you will be stuck with 56k for ever.
I believe all new homes in the US are now equipped with a minimum if a 200A circuit by law which would equate to your internet speed minimum being regulated.