The internet should be a public utility

Re:The internet should be a public utility by heymijo on Saturday March 28, 2020 @06:01PM (#22714657)

1) Ownership

Nationalized companies are owned by the state. AT&T had/has private shareholders.

2) Control

With ownership comes control. The U.S. government granted AT&T a conditional monopoly. In the early 20th century it was in exchange for extending service across the nation. Mid-20th century for defense work.

Aside from these conditions the U.S. government did not exert control on AT&T's operations.

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Re:The internet should be a public utility by bluntfang on Sunday March 29, 2020 @09:39AM (#22718910)

>Nationalized companies are owned by the state. AT&T had/has private shareholders.

I feel like this is being pedantic. While there are shareholders, taxpayers have funded the infrastructure and are paying for it in the form of tax breaks.

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