200 Billion Broadband Scandal Rhetorical Analysis

Two hundred billion dollars—costing roughly two thousand dollars per household in the United States—gone in a puff of smoke, along with a slew of broken promises, reduced regulation, and non-existent culpability. This is the reality of the internet provider industry in the United States. In addition to costing Americans billions in tax breaks and benefits, internet service providers (ISPs), lack of regulation allows ISPs to leverage absurd and unnecessary charges against their customers, as well as arbitrarily cap internet access. Practically every American holds stakes in this outrageous condition, which deserves the utmost attention and action. To that end, Bruce Kushnick, a longtime advocate for consumers of the telecom industries, wrote a book titled $200 Billion Broadband Scandal. The piece goes into great depth about the history of telecom companies, as well as their broken promises, greedy political maneuvers, and general

This essay will focus on the rhetorical strategies used within this text and determine its overall usefulness. By utilizing a variety of rhetorical techniques, particularly logos and ethos, Kushnick makes an excellent case against ISPs. However, because of the length of the piece and the lack of any clear call to action, the effectiveness of the text is hamstrung. The author of $200 Billion Broadband Scandal, Bruce Kushnick, worked as a lead analyst in the telecommunication industry for over thirty years and has correctly predicted the implementation and widespread adoption of new technologies (e.g. voicemail, caller IDs, etc.) by telecom companies. After over three decades in the business of advising telecom companies, Kushnick became fed up with the abominable practices and profits made