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Tom Wheeler Resigns from the FCC

wired.com

21–30 of 217 posts

Re: Tom Wheeler Resigns from the FCC

#22

Wait, he's the cable industry shill, right? So this is the best news ever?

He's the lobbyist-turned-consumer-advocate. He has done an incredible number of really good things to protect consumer rights and interests, much to the chagrin of communication conglomerates.

Re: Tom Wheeler Resigns from the FCC

#23

Got an error when clicking on that link: "Wired.com is not included in your Comcast Internet Basic package. Click here to upgrade to Comcast Internet Extreme for $9.99 more a month, for access to Wired.com and twenty other premium web sites!"

This type of thing has been said for years. I placed a long bet with a friend 7 years ago when he said "in 5 years" we'll have what was described above. Hasn't happened. Won't happen.

Re: Tom Wheeler Resigns from the FCC

#24
post #5

Got an error when clicking on that link: "Wired.com is not included in your Comcast Internet Basic package. Click here to upgrade to Comcast Internet Extreme for $9.99 more a month, for access to Wired.com and twenty other premium web sites!"

I realize that's satire, but actual net neutrality violations are much cleverer and mostly won't even be visible to users. For example, it's more likely that Wired would (be forced to) pay Comcast a cut of their ad revenue.

Except it's more insidious than that. In Australia, playing Apple Music doesn't count towards your data cap on Telstra Mobile. Hell, even I switched to Apple Music because my home Internet was out for a week and Spotify lost my offline cached tracks (again).

Re: Tom Wheeler Resigns from the FCC

#26
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realize that's satire, but actual net neutrality violations are much cleverer and mostly won't even be visible to users. For example, it's more likely that Wired would (be forced to) pay Comcast a cut of their ad revenue.

And they wouldn't be outright blocked. They'd just be throttled to 128kbps and limited to only one open TCP connection at a time from that customer.

"Nah sir, that's just jitter coming from the cord coming from your XFinity box into your computer. We only support Comcast Certified™ cables such as MONSTER. Our records indicate that your local Best Buy has them on sale for $69.99(1) for a three inch, but we can sell you to them now for 20% off(2) for being such a good customer."

1) Price quoted by support agent may not be the most up to date price for the requested service item. It is often times significantly cheaper than what our data reflects.

2) Discount does not include shipping, processing, transaction, or technical support fees. Our discounted price might also remain significantly more expensive than similar services offered by third parties in your area.

Re: Tom Wheeler Resigns from the FCC

#27

This isn't really news, more of a mere formality. The federal government department heads are all expected to resign or be fired when there's a regime shift in the Oval Office (party change).

Incorrect. FCC commissioners serve a term and Wheeler's term was up June 30, 2018, so this is an early resignation and opens up a spot for Obama or Trump to fill.

Obama is not going to be able to fill any spot that requires Senate confirmation.

Re: Tom Wheeler Resigns from the FCC

#28
post #23

Got an error when clicking on that link: "Wired.com is not included in your Comcast Internet Basic package. Click here to upgrade to Comcast Internet Extreme for $9.99 more a month, for access to Wired.com and twenty other premium web sites!"

This type of thing has been said for years. I placed a long bet with a friend 7 years ago when he said "in 5 years" we'll have what was described above. Hasn't happened. Won't happen.

There's a reason it hasn't happened yet; it's not some sort of deterministic process. Many people worked hard to stop it from happening, and a new FCC chairman could change the status quo.

Re: Tom Wheeler Resigns from the FCC

#29
post #23

Got an error when clicking on that link: "Wired.com is not included in your Comcast Internet Basic package. Click here to upgrade to Comcast Internet Extreme for $9.99 more a month, for access to Wired.com and twenty other premium web sites!"

This type of thing has been said for years. I placed a long bet with a friend 7 years ago when he said "in 5 years" we'll have what was described above. Hasn't happened. Won't happen.

>Hasn't happened. Won't happen.

I don't know about five years. But in 25 I don't know if you'll be able to differentiate your computer from your (old, dumb) TV, except you'll have fewer rights

Re: Tom Wheeler Resigns from the FCC

#30
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incorrect. FCC commissioners serve a term and Wheeler's term was up June 30, 2018, so this is an early resignation and opens up a spot for Obama or Trump to fill.

Obama is not going to be able to fill any spot that requires Senate confirmation.

I'm not sure it requires confirmation if it's filling a spot with an incomplete term.
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