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Released: September 15, 2011

Want better wireless service in America? Socialize it.

Source: Joshua Topolsky, Washington Post/Bloomberg (Free Registration)

Imagine you’re headed out of town for the weekend in your new Prius. If you don’t own a Prius, don’t worry — this is an alternate reality. You’re leaving Maryland for New York and looking forward to a leisurely afternoon drive. But there’s a snag — a big one. A small group of private companies actually owns the roads, and they want you to follow their rules — so you can’t get to New York unless you drive an SUV. To get on Interstate 95 north, you’ve got to have an Escalade or an Explorer. On the other hand, the company that owns the roads around Washington allows only green cars, so those big SUVs have no way of getting from New York to vast swaths of Maryland. Oh, there are also towns that neither type of car can drive to because no one has built any roads there yet. Sorry! That’s just how someone decided to make the transportation network work. Sounds crazy, right? Well, I’ve just described the current state of the U.S. wireless phone business.

Read Full Article: Want better wireless service in America? Socialize it.