WEBVTT - Why do internet companies suck so much? 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:15.640 I'm Noah, I'm Devin, I'm Rachel. And this is no 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:18.639 such thing the show where we settle art arguments and 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:20.520 yours by actually doing the research. 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:21.640 This week? 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:24.360 Why do I only have one option for Internet? And 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:25.960 it's a bad one. 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:28.840 Then they pull out their little iPad and say, yeah, 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:31.480 we don't offer the service, but glad to know you're interested. 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:37.240 Yeah, you just wasted both for our time. There's no 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:42.519 no such thing, no such thing, such thing. 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:58.160 Okay, we are back this week in lieu of Manny. 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:01.320 We are joined by Rachel ascona journalist and founder of 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:02.200 Throwing Spaghetti Media. 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:06.880 Hi, Rachel, thanks for having me friend of the pod. 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:11.360 Yeah, that's your title. Do you have Internet? 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:12.560 I do have Internet? 0:01:12.600 --> 0:01:14.520 Oka, and do you like your ISP? 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:16.120 Not particularly? 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:16.560 Okay? 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:16.920 Why not? 0:01:17.080 --> 0:01:17.480 I don't. 0:01:17.920 --> 0:01:21.880 I feel like it is constantly crapping out. 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:24.759 It doesn't reach some of the rooms in my apartment. 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:25.679 Oh I love that. 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:27.640 And they're like, oh, I can't go through the wall. 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:31.440 Why why I could not go through the walls? 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:36.440 That's an issue because my apartment has walls exactly the Internet. Yeah, 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:37.279 of course I have Internet. 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:38.440 And how is that for you? 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:40.800 I'm old school, so not only do I have Internet. 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:43.480 I also have cable all in one I got. 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:44.920 I got the bundle bundle. 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:46.000 Yeah. 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:49.080 I like watching my sports, my Mets, and I don't 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:50.560 want to have to figure out how to do that 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:53.080 on the internet, So yeah, I have both. I had 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:57.040 Optimum for a while. It was pretty terrible, but it 0:01:57.160 --> 0:01:59.200 was my only option for most of the time. I 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:00.960 was at my apartment, so I would call them and 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.680 complain and I would say, basically, well, what the hell 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:05.559 are you going to do because you can't get anything else, 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:08.240 And I would be like, you're right. 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:11.800 But I'm still upset it's not working. 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:16.240 It's similar deserts, like you know, signal issues. There'll be 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:18.760 times where it's just down for no reason. I've been 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.440 weather related. Over the last couple of years, I've had 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:24.799 for as and bios, which started out really strong. When 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:26.720 I first got it, I was like, whoa, this is 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.920 so much better. It's fiber or whatever they're saying, and 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:34.799 it was in the beginning. Lately it's been not as great, 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:37.800 but yeah, like I don't want to switch back to Optimum, 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:38.720 so I'm kind of stuck. 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:47.880 Yeah, cross, I also have Internet, but sometimes I don't. Unfortunately, 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:49.440 when I want, you know, I'm paying for it, and 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:50.280 this is my issue. 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:54.160 And as someone who has the video, call for you. 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:55.120 You haven't drop out. 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:57.639 It's been much worse slately. Yeah, he's been bit at bad. 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:04.280 Welcome to this column, may be recorded. 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:05.359 How can I help you today? 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:10.920 My internet is out one moment please, So you're dropping 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:14.520 out on calls, they won't give you the day back, No. 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:16.440 Good luck trying to call get your money. 0:03:16.720 --> 0:03:16.960 Yeah. 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:19.160 So yeah, that's what I've tried to do. Then I 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.200 run speed tests with this company. I'll run them, I'll 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:24.680 take screenshots every you know, ten minutes or something, so 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:26.240 I have a document because I've called in the past. 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:28.320 They say, okay, we can't do anything. I'll be like, 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:31.200 oh it's been bad since Tuesday. I'm calling on a Friday. 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:33.239 So they're like, well, we can't do anything because we 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:35.920 didn't run the test. Then so they don't they don't 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:36.320 believe it. 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:37.520 They must know. 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:39.680 And then yeah, it's like you're saying, they know I 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.520 don't have another option. No, So the best I've got, 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:45.680 like after begging for you know, spending basically my whole 0:03:45.760 --> 0:03:47.800 day on the phone with them, They'll give me like 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:50.960 five dollars back and I'm paying, you know, over one 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:54.560 hundred dollars for this. I've upgraded my service, so I'm 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:56.880 getting one gig just to hope that I can even 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:59.840 get half of what they're offering, because that's kind of 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:02.119 been problem. I'm saying, like, Okay, I'm paying for five 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:05.640 hundred gigabytes, I'm not getting even close to that, and 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:08.480 the upload speeds are even worse, which is, you know, 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:11.200 to pull the curtain back. Aside from no such thing. 0:04:11.200 --> 0:04:14.559 I also edit podcasts and videos for other people. 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:15.720 To pay me. 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:20.840 And if I can't, you know, upload a video can 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:21.680 be a problem. 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:24.880 I'm on the phone with someone I'm gonna lose my job. 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:26.560 I'm gonna lose my job and I'm gonna have to move. 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:27.880 I don't know what I'm gonna do. I'm not gonna 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:29.880 be able to pay you anything. Well that's basically what 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:30.200 I'm saying. 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:32.360 I'm hoping just like you know, And they're like, first 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:36.720 of all, my wife was the account holder. They're like, 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:39.920 who are you talking to? I say, the account is Julia. 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:43.520 They're like, so this is this is not Julia? 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:44.839 Whoa, whoa, whoa. 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:45.680 Yeah, that's what I said. 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:46.880 I was like, you don't know who you're on the 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:49.960 phone with Julia can have also like why would I 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:50.760 why would. 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:51.080 I be calling? 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:52.600 I don't know what I would even be doing if 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:55.000 I wasn't suffering from there. 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:56.839 Yeah, like I'm doing. 0:04:56.640 --> 0:04:59.719 This to upgrade someone else's internet. But yeah, once I 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:02.440 had a basically restart the whole process because they didn't 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:05.839 believe that I was my wife, which was it's true, 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:07.920 you are not. They were right that I'm not my wife, 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:09.880 but they don't they don't. They shouldn't have known that. 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:12.760 What's what's wild is that's like my my smallest issue 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.880 with this is SP my Internet service provider. But what's 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:19.279 most frustrating is sometimes I've had people from competing once 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:21.200 come to my door, knock on my door and say, hey, 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:25.160 are you interested in this? I go, I mean yeah, potentially, 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:27.520 but can you do it? And then they're like, oh, 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:28.880 we actually don't offer this here. 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:29.320 I've had this. 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:33.320 They're asking to get interest so then maybe they can 0:05:33.320 --> 0:05:33.840 push for. 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:38.080 You would think the people because I've had this too, 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:40.320 They come to your door, they say, hey, do you 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:45.000 want they were doing this with me your actual door, Yes, yeah, 0:05:45.560 --> 0:05:47.320 they're in the building, not even know how we got 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:48.920 up here before walk up. 0:05:48.960 --> 0:05:52.760 Yeah, that's actually very impressive. Who let you in first 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:53.080 of all? 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:56.440 But then you coming they're off here and they're talking about, hey, 0:05:56.520 --> 0:05:58.680 yeah you thought about switching, and so yeah, I've thought 0:05:58.680 --> 0:05:59.120 about it. 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:00.960 But lest that chuck. 0:06:01.000 --> 0:06:02.200 You guys don't offer the service. 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:03.599 I think about all the time. 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:06.240 The little iPad and say, yeah, we don't offer the service. 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:09.200 But glad to know you're interested. Yeah, you just wasted 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:12.080 both for our time that you could have looked that 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:15.840 up earlier. How don't you know this? You're walking around 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:18.240 here for the company and you don't know that you 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:19.320 can't service men. 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:23.640 I want to know if you know these ISP's counts 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:27.400 where you know in my neighborhood, say Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:29.039 I only have one option? 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:30.320 Why is that not a monopoly? 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:32.279 Sounds like a monopoly to me. 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:33.080 Yeah. 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:35.840 So after the break, we're going to talk to someone 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:39.040 who hopefully can answer some of these questions for us, 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:43.120 and maybe I'll be better equipped to find a new. 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:45.200 Internet provider without moving. 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:47.279 Here's hoping. 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.320 All right, we're back. I'm Noah Devin Rachel. 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:08.360 We're talking about ISP's aka Internet Service providers and why 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:11.040 I only have the option of one to try to 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:14.640 answer some of these questions and hopefully maybe work towards solutions. 0:07:14.840 --> 0:07:19.080 We're going to talk to Emily Stewart, senior correspondent at 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:19.960 Business Insider. 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:22.800 Hi, Emily, Hello, thank you Pard having me. 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:25.240 We'll introduce yourself a little bit in some of the 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:26.040 reporting you've done. 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:29.120 Yeah, so I'm a reporter at Business Insider. What is 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:30.680 my beat? Who knows? What do I cover? 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:34.760 I write about consumerism, right about the economy. I do 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:38.440 sometimes write about scams, but more like the scam that 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:42.720 is capitalism, the big scam, which is like where the 0:07:42.800 --> 0:07:45.800 ISP stuff comes in. Like candidly, a few years ago, 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:49.320 I was very mad at my internet company and I 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:51.640 was like, well, this is stupid, Like how in the 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:53.480 world is this happening. I live in like one of 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:57.600 the biggest cities in the world. Yeah, I'm like this candy, 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:01.400 this difficult, and like, you know, that is the scam 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:03.600 that is the world that we live in. That isn't 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:06.920 like somebody calling your grandma telling your kidnapped. Just like 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:10.120 you know, you're talking to a giant company being like 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:14.000 why is my service always worse? And it's somehow constantly 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:16.880 more expensive and yet here we are and you know 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:18.920 that I am trapped exactly. 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:23.960 So Emily, can we first start how are internet service 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:25.280 providers set up in the US? 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:27.520 How are they made? 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:32.600 I mean, like as much as like we think of 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:35.079 the Internet now as like Wi Fi right, like it's 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:38.600 actually physical infrastructure and cables, and I think, like that's 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:41.360 like I am not an Internet how it works expert, 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:45.320 but I think sometimes like people forget there's kind of 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:47.560 like a backbone of like fiber off the cables that 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:49.439 going across the country, and then you get into like 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:53.280 regional providers, and then you get into the more local providers. Usually, 0:08:53.280 --> 0:08:55.679 I think when we think about what's wrong with the 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:58.160 Internet and who we're dealing with, what we kind of 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:00.760 are talking about is like the last mid which is 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:04.400 whatever cable that's connected to your door. And so that's 0:09:04.480 --> 0:09:06.640 kind of I think what the issue is. But it works, 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:09.440 you know, like cable companies in the nineties, Like I 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:12.880 grew up in rural Wisconsin and my dad used to 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:14.600 like chase down the cable. 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:17.800 Guy, being like when are you coming so that I 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:18.600 can have cable? 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:24.400 And if you think about the names and like the 0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:27.040 companies you have, your cable company and your internet company 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:29.959 are the same company, right, Like if I want cable, 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:31.600 which do I want that nowadays? 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:32.000 I don't know. 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:35.280 Some people do. They're probably my internet company too, and 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:36.360 even my phone company. 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:39.120 Yeah, we just already had the cable lines and we 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:40.280 kind of added it. 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:42.679 I mean, we've had the cable lines. But it is like, 0:09:42.880 --> 0:09:45.240 you know, it's an ongoing project. Like I'm really started 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:46.679 this like five years ago and it was like one 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:48.400 in five New Yorkers doesn't have Internet. 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:50.600 Like that's not the case anymore. 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:52.640 Like I was talking to somebody versus the city this 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:55.559 morning and I was like, you know, or does everybody 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:56.920 have the Internet now? 0:09:57.040 --> 0:09:59.520 And she was like, well, like yes. 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:01.160 But some of them can't afford it and some of 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:03.720 them don't want it. But like, you know, I think 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:05.400 a lot of the issue is this is like a 0:10:05.440 --> 0:10:08.600 big infrastructure project when you think about it, like you 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:10.920 have to dig up streets, you have polls, like, you 0:10:10.960 --> 0:10:12.640 have all of these things. And so I think kind 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:14.640 of the story of the Internet, not only in New 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:17.960 York but everywhere. It's like once you've dug up the 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:20.840 street and you've put in the cable, nobody wants to 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:22.920 go behind you to do that again. So like a 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:24.680 competitor is not going to come in. And also you 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:28.520 spend all this time and money putting in these cables, 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.760 like you're not eager to be like, hey, I'm optimum 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:32.079 of like. 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:34.000 AG and T do you guys want it on this too? 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:36.520 Like nobody's doing that, And so I think that's the issue, 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:38.960 and like, you know, this is kind of like a 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:42.120 rural urban problem, like I think sometimes like we hear 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:44.040 a lot about rural broadband, which I know is not 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:46.520 really like what we're talking about here, but like they 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:49.600 are like different types of issues in rural I don't know, 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:52.840 like Idaho, they don't necessarily have broadband because it's not 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:56.680 lucrative for like a big company to send out the 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.480 internet out there, right, And in like urban areas, it's 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:01.200 like a little bit of a different story. I mean, 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:02.920 some of it's just like the monopoly problem, and some 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.880 of it's the expense problem. And that's really like everywhere, 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:10.119 like average internet bills are like sixty seventy eighty dollars 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:12.719 like across the country, and you only have access to 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:15.120 the internet if you have seventy dollars to spend, and 0:11:15.160 --> 0:11:18.080 not everybody has seventy dollars to spend. 0:11:18.040 --> 0:11:22.400 In a situation that we're all in separately. Did Optimum 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:24.760 just say like, hey, we're going to take this area. 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:26.400 How did that land grab happen? 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:27.520 Yeah? 0:11:27.600 --> 0:11:29.640 I mean a lot of it is like you know, 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:32.120 a city will say, or a municipality whatever, we'll. 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:33.360 Say we need internet here. 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:36.160 So like you make a deal with a company and 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:38.160 you say, all right, we're going to let you come in, 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:41.400 and like maybe we'll give you some subsidies, maybe we won't, 0:11:41.640 --> 0:11:43.640 or maybe like you'll promise up in order to like 0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:45.800 wire up our city or our area. 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:49.000 You will give us like a public access TV channel 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:50.640 like whatever it would be. And there's a lot of 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:51.560 it's cable too. 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:54.080 Yeah, and so now you like wind up in a 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:57.800 situation where there's just all of these like natural monopolies. Basically, 0:11:57.880 --> 0:11:59.959 like I said before, like it kind of makes sense 0:12:00.120 --> 0:12:03.080 to some extent. Yeah, if you build out the whole thing, 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:05.959 like you're not going to be super eager to let 0:12:05.960 --> 0:12:08.840 somebody else do it. It's also a little bit complicated 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:11.439 because a lot of states also have laws that saying, 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:14.840 like certain municipalities can't do their own broadband, and so 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:17.360 like we really kind of let. 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:20.240 The companies take over, and companies. 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:21.719 Don't want to compete, right like, they want to make 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:23.920 as much money as they can for as many people 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:26.680 as they can and deal with as few competitors as possible, 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:30.240 and so like we wind up with this situation where like, yeah, 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:33.040 maybe this has happened for a reason, but also like 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:36.880 is this ideal when you are calling your internet provider 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:40.720 and like begging for a discount. 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:46.920 So I asked how internet service compares to public utilities 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:50.360 like electricity, gas, or water. Emily said, the stronger comparison 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.160 is to the mail, meaning we don't think about the 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:55.760 postal service as a utility, but if it was completely 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:59.520 privatized to the reality is many areas like say rural 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:02.200 Montana simply wouldn't have the mail because it wouldn't make 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:05.040 financial sense for the providers. But access to the Internet, 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:07.640 even though most people do need it in some capacity 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:10.040 at least, is held in the hands of private companies. 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:16.920 So does it mean in a practical sense, Let's say, 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:20.480 let's say electricity or water, right like, so, like, you know, 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:24.560 New York State is building the infrastructure, you know, for 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:26.760 the most part, for those things. And then if you're 0:13:26.760 --> 0:13:29.720 building a building, obviously you're you know, building the pipes 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:33.600 within your building. But is the idea that like, because 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:37.320 those are public utilities, the city is investing in creating 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:40.600 those lines or whatever versus like the Internet is more 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:43.800 relying on Hey, Comcast, if you're optimum, if you're going 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:46.000 to come in here, you are going to build out 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:49.160 the infrastructure because that's not our responsibility. 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:51.679 Right, and like maybe we will give you some subsidies 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:53.640 or like make some special agreements with. 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:57.680 You, but like incentivies you to do that, right, Like, hey, 0:13:57.720 --> 0:13:58.240 also if. 0:13:58.160 --> 0:13:59.959 We give you a bunch of money to build out 0:13:59.960 --> 0:14:02.560 these lines and like, oh, you guys had other expensive 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:05.880 views on Like there you go. And that's kind of 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:08.640 I think then the story like across kind of the 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:11.839 Internet being built out of like you know, companies are 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:15.760 making deals with cities, with states, with governments, and like 0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:18.640 you know, a company's incentives are just different. 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:21.360 Yeah, and like it's yeah, it's basically purely a market 0:14:21.440 --> 0:14:23.040 thing where it's like we know tons of people live 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:25.720 here and need internet, so we'll provide for them. It's 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:30.440 not like we all agree everyone agrees people need water, Yeah, 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:33.760 so let's get the water. There's most people want internet, 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:37.600 and people will buy it, but it's not a necessity 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:40.120 in the same way, yeah, or as we see it. 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.640 Yeah, I think as we see it is probably the 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:46.480 key because I think it's like now become almost as 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:50.400 much of a necessity to live, to work, to pay bills, 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:55.200 to literally do so many things that even yeah, even 0:14:55.240 --> 0:15:01.520 somebody who's disconnected theoretically, yeah, banking something like you, there's 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:04.200 so many things you do need it for that It's like, 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:06.840 at what point are we going to realize that it 0:15:06.960 --> 0:15:11.600 is actually a necessity the same way electricity wasn't always 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:12.360 a necessity? 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:16.560 Ye, right, Well, if you like, think back to the pandemic, 0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:19.280 even with those pictures of kids sitting outside of a 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:23.080 McDonald's schoolwork, those were kids that didn't have. 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:24.280 Internet at home. 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.640 After the break? Am I fighting a monopoly? 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:50.880 Can you first define and we've thrown around a little bit, 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:52.200 can you define a monopoly? 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:54.720 And then I want to see if this is one. 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:57.400 I mean monopoly is basically like a company where it's 0:15:57.440 --> 0:15:59.680 the only game in town, and like in town, I. 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:02.040 Mean like a specific market, not in the world. 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:03.840 I mean you think about it in a lot of 0:16:03.840 --> 0:16:06.280 different ways, Like a lot of people would say, like 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:09.240 Amazon is a monopoly, right, like in terms of just 0:16:09.320 --> 0:16:11.920 e commerce, and like it as much as like maybe 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:14.040 Walmart's a competitor, like is it I don't know or 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:17.080 like to beers the Diamond Company for a long time 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:19.320 was the monopoly. Sometimes when I think about monopolies, I 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:22.360 also think about this sounds born like oligopolies, which is 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:24.880 sometimes and I think it's a lot more common across 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:27.720 our economy. It's like a handful of companies really like 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:30.400 control the show. If you think about like airlines, right, 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.320 it's like what America Delta United, you know, and then 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.560 a couple of smaller players, you know, phones, T Mobile, 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:39.600 AT and T Verizon and T Mobile actually merged with 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:41.560 sprently a couple of years ago. I was saying, like, 0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:44.040 we have to be bigger so that we can compete 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:45.160 with these even bigger guys. 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:48.320 And like I am a little bit of a monopoly. 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:50.960 Not like I try not to be liked, but like 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:52.760 it is one of those things when like when you 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:55.400 start to see it, you see it everywhere, when you 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:57.800 realize that like what you think is like your cute 0:16:57.840 --> 0:16:59.040 little craft beer. 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:03.040 Is made by is owned at least by Anheuser. 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:06.240 Bush's so crazy it really is like, oh man, like 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:07.960 there's no such thing a small business. 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:11.080 Right, you're seeing a different label. Yeah, yeah. 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:13.960 Do you think monopolies are bad and why or what 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:14.720 are the issues? 0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:19.560 I think this in an ideal like healthy economy, we 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:23.320 want competition, right, And the big problem with a monopoly 0:17:23.480 --> 0:17:26.840 or noologopoly is when companies don't have to compete when 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:31.240 they have so much power, consumers lose out, workers lose out, 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:33.240 et cetera. The way that we kind of deal with 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:36.000 monopolies and like anti trust policy right now is very 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:39.560 much the consumer standard. It's like, is the consumer spending 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:42.399 more money? And if they are, then that is bad. 0:17:42.640 --> 0:17:47.280 If two drug companies sell insulin and they're increasing prices 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:48.960 like in tandem. 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:49.360 Bad right. 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:52.679 I think also though, like sometimes we don't think about 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:53.560 the other. 0:17:53.400 --> 0:17:56.200 Consequences of monopolies, Like it's also. 0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:59.119 Bad for labor, right, it's bad for wages if you 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.280 have a ton of power and workers can really work 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:04.040 at one company like there you go, or like suppliers, 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:05.560 like if you want to sell out Walmart, you have 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:06.440 to do what Walmart says. 0:18:06.440 --> 0:18:08.680 The same thing with Amazon. Like I've done a lot 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:09.840 of reporting. 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:12.119 Like talking to small businesses most of them will say, 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:14.800 like you with Amazon, it's like a real trade off, 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:18.280 Like I have to be there because otherwise I will 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:20.960 not reach people. Also like I have to deal with 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:23.400 you know exactly their terms in terms of how much, 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:25.920 but could they take in terms of their return policies. 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:29.680 You want there to be more options, and I think 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:32.640 like that's where like we see like the fewer options 0:18:32.680 --> 0:18:34.840 there are that kind of just shows up in ways 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:37.520 that are bad economically but even culturally, Like you want 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:39.679 to feel like, oh, like a small business can make it, 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:42.399