If the FCC Had Regulated the Internet From the Start

In the spirit of (but with a different approach than) last week's post "Is Net Neutrality Really Needed?", an anonymous reader writes with this "counterfactual history of the internet, but one that is all too plausible. Unfortunately, I can see this happening under the new 'Net Neutrality.'"

and so ?

[unity100]

since the line sharing agreement (hellooo regulation) ended in 2006, there are no small regional isps left anymore in the first place ? how that has been any different ?

Re:soooo ?

[Jane Q. Public]

I was an early adopter of dial-up internet, and even considered starting my own ISP service. At no time were any internet services in my area priced per byte. It was always unlimited. Slow sometimes, but unlimited.

Re:Not so realistic

[runningduck]

Oddly enough the government did regulate the Internet in the early years. It wasn't until the early '90s that commercial activity was allowed on the Internet. Prior to that only academic and research entities were allowed. It could be argued that the early restrictive regulations of the Internet created an incubation environment that allowed the Internet to mature and surpass the offerings by commercial providers such as CompuServe and AOL.

Re:Not so realistic

[Shakrai]

And what's worse is the conservative media and blogosphere will cite this article and quote it

You realize the article was published by Slate, generally regarded as leaning to the left, right?