David Cay Johnston has written a good piece in the New York Times this week outlining all the ways the American market for Internet services — and wireline services in particular — is truly godawful. Johnston’s arguments are familiar by now but that doesn’t make them any less relevant, especially his nuggets on how American consumers pay vastly more for “bundled” Internet, television and phone services than consumers overseas. For example, Johnston notes that “on average… a triple-play package that bundles Internet, telephone and television sells for $160 a month with taxes” whereas “in France the equivalent costs just $38.”

So it’s obvious that America has a problem when it comes to Internet services. The question, then, becomes what to do about it. Happily, I think there are some emerging solutions that are right in front of our eyes that don’t even require heavy-handed government intervention along the lines of breaking up the telecom companies. In no particular order, here are three ways both American citizens and the government can help create a much better ISP market than the one we have today.

There’s no magic bullet to improve America’s ISP market, but there are several things that both the government and consumers can do to make things better over the long haul. And looking at all the potential new entrants into the market, such as Google Fiber and Dish, makes me feel more hopeful about the potential of Internet service in America than I have in a very long time.