A Bailout For The Telecoms?

That’s what Doug Ross says is happening:

Progressive communications group FreePress is lobbying President-Elect Obama for a $44 billion bailout aimed primarily at the telephone and cable monopolies (PDF). The money would ostensibly be used for various incentives to build out broadband connections to underserved areas such as rural locations.
FreePress calls the $50 billion in taxpayer money a “down payment on a digital future.” But what it really appears to be is a duplicate set of payments to the telephone and cable companies for infrastructure they promised to build years ago.
Given the fact that the carriers are government-regulated, possess virtual monopolies over their territories, and spend hundreds of millions lobbying, I like to call them the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of communications.

I don’t understand why we need to subsidize infrastructure out in the boonies, especially given that it seems as though the direction the market is going is wireless access. Already there are laptops on sale with built-in capability to access Verizon’s wireless broadband access through the cell phone networks. As that capability spreads the importance of internet infrastructure in rural areas is going to become less.
This, frankly, sounds like rent-seeking. But I think it goes beyond that too. I think the end game here is government control of the internet.
All government funding comes with strings. If the government attaches strings to access to the internet they’ve got their foot in the door for regulation. And once the government is in charge of regulating the internet free speech is in jeopardy.
Frankly, I think nationalizing the internet is one of Obama’s unstated goals as President.