This is a letter to voice my opinion on the current debate going on in the Iowa Senate. The debate is not on something frivolous like the usual debates in the senate, but rather it is about our free use of the Internet. This is very wrong!

The bureaucratic bungholes down in Des Moines think they hear from their constituents (the lobbyist who lines their greasy pockets) that change is needed. The telephone companies went whining like the monopolies they are to the Iowa Senate, saying they are not making enough money to suit their tastes and want the ICN limited if not cut out entirely. They complain they are getting too much competition from the ICN. … WAIT A MINUTE!!!! Did I hear competition, not in this country, NO!! This great nation was based on capitalism and free trade. Now, granted, the government has limited that a hell of a lot, but that is another story.

The telephone companies are given a limited monopoly and that is a hell of a lot more than many other companies are given. They are given an unfair and guaranteed market to tap and drain to their likings, what is wrong with a little competition. I don’t see anything wrong with it at all. In fact it is good for us, the consumer, because it gives us a choice and brings the prices down and the quality up. The telephone companies took advantage of us for long enough I find nothing wrong with telling “Ma Bell” to give me a good reason why I should use the phone companies for my telecommunication needs.

There is another reason why this whole debate is wrong and unethical. This is the most important reason of them all. What was the ICN initially set up for? Education! The state of Iowa wanted its students to have the best opportunity possible to learn and understand and be ready for the job world upon graduation.

I don’t know about many of you other students out there, but I know I rely on the Internet almost every day to get notes for class or do assignments. Those of you who have taken almost any low level Biology course can understand the importance of the Internet and getting class notes that the Professor posts for your use. And there are engineers who get the pleasure of taking Geology 201 and taking all the quizzes over the Internet and getting notes from the Internet. I don’t see any good in making us, the students, pay extra for something that is an important and integral part of our education. What good can come from it? None, only a poorer quality education and an ignorance of the Internet and how it works.

The ICN is in place now and is not going anywhere, so I say this whole debate is wrong and should not be taking place. If anything, the debate should have been argued long ago when the fiber optic lines were being laid or even before that, way back in the planning stages of the project. But not now, the system is up and running and works well. If “Ma Bell” wants more money, tell her to make changes within and not make the whole state conform to fit her standards.

Paul LaFleur

Sophomore

Civil Engineering