WODC R1: This House believes that provision of Internet services should be a public utility..

Resolved: This House believes that provision of Internet services should be a public utility. In order to fufill my BoP, I will argue that the benefits of Internet services being a public utility outweigh the costs of internet services. What a public utility is According to the legal freedictionary, a public utility is defined as "a business that furnishes an everyday necessity to the public at large. Public utilities provide water, electricity, natural gas, telephone service, and other essentials." What is meant by "Essentials" In the definition above, water, electricity, natural gas, and telephone service were all classified as essentials. Water is definately an essential for humans to live, while electricity and natural is not necessary for survival, they are indicators of human developement. According to Infrastructure Access and Human Development: CrossCountry Evidence and Post-2015 Development Strategies "access to electricity and access to water have positive and significant effect on education and health indexes"( http://web.isanet.org...) Telephone access is not necessary for survival, but it is still listed as an essential. Perhaps it is essential because it increases overall public safety. Emergency services such as 911 are used via telecommunication services. These emergency services offer immediate response after an emergency, greatly improving standard of living. Since these public utilties are not considered essential for human survival, it is logical to conclude that what is met by an essential service is "a service that is essential for a comfortable living" or "a service that is essential for daily life in a developed nation." Why internet services are essential for a comfortable living Internet services are essential for a comfortable living because it contains a plethora of information, thus one can get educated more easily. According to the NY Times, education is essential to economic prosperity, as more education = more money. (http://www.nytimes.com...) Internet services also assist with filing taxes, checking the weather, buying and selling stocks, learning new things, etc. There is also a correlation of internet usage with HDI, nations with high HDI tend to have widespread internet usage. (http://en.wikipedia.org...) Thus it is safe to assume that All these things are necessary for a comfortable living in developed nations. Why internet services should be public utility. Internet services should be public utility because according to the legal freedictionary public utilities offer essential services at a reasonable price (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com...), thus more people can afford the internet, leading to more people benefiting from the positives of internet usage. I will specifically call for national broadband as a public utility, as that is proven to increase economic growth. (http://www.ericsson.com...) (s://www.itu.int...) Economic growth is good because it leads to higher income leveles, reduces unemployment, improves public services, and encourages investment, which furthers economic growth. (http://www.economicshelp.org...) Since making internet services a public utility will further economic growth, This House believes that provision of Internet services should be a public utility.