I recommend reading Susan Crawford's new book, "Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age." It is an insightful analysis of why Internet access in the United States is so bad. In the absence of reasonable regulation, a few giant telecom corporations have acquired enough market power to demand high prices for inferior products.

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In this interview video, Crawford discusses what her book is about.

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Crawford advocates that government return to regulating telecom in the public interest, including making it easier for municipalities to implement fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks.

A petition asking the Obama administration to appoint Susan Crawford as the next chairman of the FCC can be found here:

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If you agree with Crawford analysis and proposals, please consider signing the petition.

(When Google said it was going to implement a FTTP system in some lucky city that seemed to want it, many Palo Altans sent Google requests that it consider Palo Alto. This is a similar kind of opportunity.)