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There has been a lot of buzz lately in the tech world about AT&T and Verizon getting the attention of just about everyone in Washington that a business DOESN’T want to get attention from.

This article from Ars Technica sums it up pretty well.

There is a pretty nice sized list of issues with these two companies but the ones that people probably care the most about are: Price fixing on SMS services, cell phone exclusivity deals, neutral networks and pro-rated early termination fees.

Most of the issues are self explanatory or covered in the article but what might be the more interesting and underlying issue here is if the internet and companies that provide access to it should become a utility in the way that water, electricity, public roads, etc are.

This definitely won’t be answered anytime soon but I think forcing the wireless companies to play nicely with customers could be a good first step in that direction, especially as cloud-computing gains steam, wireless data services improve and the internet moves beyond the computer. The argument then becomes if internet access is “essential” to everyday life and should be accessible to anyone despite their demographic.