Broadband, Yes. Toilet, No.
Written by Dave Burstein   
Alaska_trekkingBretwood Higman and Erin McKittrick line in a yurt heated by wood they chop in Seldovia, Alaska. Sarah Maslin Nir reports "They decided they could live without running water, shower, bath or a working toilet, but they had to have broadband Internet access." (NYT) They earn their living from Ground Truth Trekking and Sundrop Jewelry. Bretwood has a PhD and Erin a Master's in molecular biology, but many less educated are finding a way to live near wilderness because of the Internet. The number is fewer than the beggar's propaganda suggests and the total economic impact modest, but broadband everywhere (including improved satellite) is an admirable goal.

Katmai's_Yurt Broadband becoming essential ironically has effect of allowing companies to raise prices anywhere competition is weak - including nearly all the United States. That's simple supply and demand.

When there are enough suppliers, increased demand raises the price some but over time it retains a relationship to cost. If one supplier raises prices too much, you can switch. But when there are only two suppliers you have little choice, especially if they raise the price simultaneously. Wall Street calls this "rational pricing" when the companies signal each other to raise prices and they price more like a monopoly than a supply and demand system.

Most of the cost factors in broadband - modems, DSLAMs, even support (fewer new unskilled customers) - tend to go down over time. In a competitive market, that means prices will tend to go down. Another way to put that is the cost of delivering broadband tend to deflate. If the prices go up, that's not "normal inflation" but instead suggests market power.