ISPs are exactly the kind of utility that lead to a Natural Monopoly. I find the anti-regulatory stance myopic and filled with a lot of mostly inflammatory rhetoric. We absolutely need government regulation, but we need effective government regulation.

There is a piece by Marco Arment in which he notes correctly that "the government" is not one monolithic entity. The response to poor regulation or laws in some areas is not to remove the regulator or sidestep it, it is to address the poor regulation and laws, and keep effective, good regulation on the books. Removing regulation in this case isn't going to yield a better result for people who rely on this essential utility, -especially with the fallout regarding packet neutrality.

I'm all for alternatives, but the ISPs that exist need increased and importantly more effective regulation. And we need to stop with the myopia that there cannot be more effective regulation because of crony-capitalism. Yes, that is a problem, but it's on us to address it and overcome it, not throw our hands up and say "It's futile, abandon ship", or worse, cynically use poor regulation in one area to attack good regulation (a la libertarianism in many cases).

My view anyway.

Edit: I just want to further say that I'm really tired of Republican's Scorched Earth rhetoric and strategy regarding government's regulatory role. It is harmful.