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“Would it be a wise decision for Verizon or Comcast to prevent access to the internet?”

Comcast HAS prevented access to internet, by “throttling” or slowing down your service if you use Netflix. It’s a matter of FCC record.

The extortion racket was two-pronged. One, make Netflix hand over a chunk of their profits to Comcast... because Comcast said so. Two, “encourage” users to ditch Netflix and pay for Xfinity, which is Comcast’s streaming service, and whaddaya know, enjoys “fast lane” speed.

And how does Comcast get away with the fiction that internet access service is a free market? There have no competition. Dial-up is slow. Satellite has latency issues. DSL is historically slower than cable. And now that Comcast is buying Time-Warner, Comcast is the only game in town for internet service in huge swaths of the country. How is that not a monopoly?

Since Comcast has proven that they won’t play fair with consumers or with companies like Netflix, just what is it consumers are supposed to do to push back on this kind of abuse when you can’t take your business elsewhere?

And can someone, for once, please explain to me how is the internet not a public utility, exactly like power and water, and especially in light of the fact that the US government invented it, at taxpayer expense?

You know who owns Hoover Dam? The people of the United States. You know who owns the internet? Here’s a hint: it’s not Comcast.