SXSW 2012

My new book, The Big Squeeze, will be coming out from Yale Press after SXSW, and I'll have a chapter for attendees. Did you know that a couple of enormous cable distributors control wired Internet access in America, and that they never compete with one another? Did you know that we have a grinding, crushing duopoly in wireless access? Did you know that the wireless guys (AT&T/VZ) have quietly divided up the world with the cable guys (Comcast/TW) and never compete across these markets? Did you know that many companies are afraid of criticizing any of these actors for fear of retribution? Did you know that the carriers treat the FCC as (at best) a peer and have zero fear of oversight, competition, or regulation? It's a genuine crisis. You guys - the public - are going to have to jump in, because politicians don't respond to arguments. They only respond to pressure and money.