Why Americans are paying much more for Internet access,and getting much less

Ten years ago, the United States stood at the forefront of the Internet revolution. With some of the fastest speeds and lowest prices in the world for high-speed Internet access, the nation was poised to be the global leader in the new knowledge-based economy. Today that global competitive advantage has all but vanished because of a series of government decisions and resulting monopolies that have allowed dozens of countries, including Japan and South Korea, to pass us in both speed and price of broadband. This steady slide backward not only deprives consumers of vital services needed in a competitive employment and business market-it also threatens the economic future of the nation.

This important book by leading telecommunications policy expert Susan Crawford explores why Americans are now paying much more but getting much less when it comes to high-speed Internet access. Using the 2011 merger between Comcast and NBC Universal as a lens, Crawford examines how we have created the biggest monopoly since the breakup of Standard Oil a century ago. In the clearest terms, this book explores how telecommunications monopolies have affected the daily lives of consumers and America's global economic standing.

About the Author
Susan Crawford is a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. She lives in New York City.

Reviews
"'Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age offers a calm but chilling state-of-play on the information age in the United States... If you are looking for the answer to why much of the developed world has cheap, reliable connections to the Internet while America seems just one step ahead of the dial-up era, her office - or her book - would be a good place to find out.' (David Carr, The New York Times) 'With an appealing blend of earnestness and feistiness, Crawford is set on turning the sorry state of broadband and wireless services in the United States into the biggest populist outrage since Elizabeth Warren went after banks.' (John B. Judis, The New Republic)"



Book Information
ISBN 9780300205701
Author Susan Crawford
Format Paperback
Page Count 368
Imprint Yale University Press
Publisher Yale University Press
Weight(grams) 463g