Internet as a Human Right: Christopher Mitchell on Community Networks

About this episode

Christopher Mitchell discusses the importance of community broadband networks and argues that internet access is a human right.

You'd think a company with as many resources, employees, and facilities as AT&T or Comcast would have good customer service. Surely, with all the billions of dollars flowing through these businesses, there'd be some resources devoted to creating a really good customer experience, right? If only that were the case. The thing is, these telecom monopolies are so big, with their power so entrenched, that it doesn't matter if their customer service is good. When you control the market, you control the market whether customers are happy or not. Time and again, smaller, locally-controlled telecom companies and networks have better customer service and better products. Because they're small and connected to their communities, these small companies have greater motivation to please their customers. Plus, since they're competing against giants, they have a lot to prove to their customers. This is the crux of one of Christopher Mitchell's arguments about why community broadband matters. Christopher Mitchell, today's guest on Building Local Power, is the head of ILSR's Community Broadband Networks Initiative. Community broadband networks can take many forms, from municipal networks to…

People in this episode

Host: Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Guest: Christopher Mitchell

Topics covered

• community broadband
• telecom monopolies
• customer service
• internet access
• human rights

Keywords

• community networks
• telecom
• customer experience
• broadband
• internet rights

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, AT&T, Comcast

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