COULD GOVERNMENT REGULATION ACTUALLY HELP THE TERRIBLE CABLE TV MARKET?

There are several ways that governments, especially municipal bodies, can encourage competition for wired broadband: removing regulatory and legal barriers for would-be installers of fiber; ‘dig once’ programs requiring installation of fiber and conduit during all major street excavation; stipulating good record-keeping as part of all permitted underground construction. I’m as suspicious of goo-goo (Good Government) pablum as the next conservative, but local action and community involvement by citizens can make a big difference.

Even better, if fiber comes to your house, you could extend a single-digit salute to your cable company and still have better service.

Thanks to the Roku box, other than the Fox Debate last night, now that Mad Men is off the air, the only thing I’m really keeping DirecTV for is the NFL. My TV watching has dropped dramatically in the era of broadband Internet, and I suspect I’m not alone.