Net neutrality is dying with a whimper
1–10 of 136 posts
Re: Net neutrality is dying with a whimper
#2The government's response to its constituents has been a flatline for many years now. I don't expect today's FCC to be any different.
However, the battle will continue with some of the heavy hitters that have been so instrumental for creating real change: advocacy groups with good lawyers. (EFF, Fight For the Future, Public Knowledge, et al.)
They will be the ones that really take the fight to the Pai-hole. It's an uphill battle, but probably our best hope.
*edited for grammar and clarity
Re: Net neutrality is dying with a whimper
#3Politicians will always be voted into office for something that looks important to people but politicians do not care the least.
Then they silently implement what they really care about.
Re: Net neutrality is dying with a whimper
#4The mistake was for the internet to grow on the ISPs infrastructure in the first place.
Now they will murder anything new by slowing it to a crawl. So to succeed, on must have superior compression- and/or a alternative infrastructure.
Or- one could try to hijack the fastlanes.
Re: Net neutrality is dying with a whimper
#5Net neutrality is dying because no one has been able to make a compelling case for it that can be understood by constituents, let alone politicians.
There is one thing that just enough politicians do understand, however, and that's money. In their pockets. From ghouls who will profit handsomely when online access in the USA becomes effectively equivalent to shitty cable-tv service.
Re: Net neutrality is dying with a whimper
#6The mistake was for the internet to grow on the ISPs infrastructure in the first place. Now they will murder anything new by slowing it to a crawl. So to succeed, on must have superior compression- and/or a alternative infrastructure. Or- one could try to hijack the fastlanes.
Sufficient competition in the market would be enough. Unfortunately, the government has allowed total monopoly on fixed line broadband. They've done it in two ways: first through exclusivity contracts with companies such as Verizon, ATT, Cox, and Comcast. They give fat payments in the form of cash, tax breaks, and local monopolies in exchange for the companies to build out infrastructure. Second, they have allowed consolidation in the marketplace to a level that should never have even been considered.
I agree that, long term, only a replacement infrastructure will be a viable solution. Unfortunately the only technology that currently has a chance is 4G/5G mobile service, and it is even more consumer-hostile.
In the mean time, we need Net Neutrality.
Re: Net neutrality is dying with a whimper
#7Net neutrality is dying because no one has been able to make a compelling case for it that can be understood by constituents, let alone politicians. There is one thing that just enough politicians do understand, however, and that's money. In their pockets. From ghouls who will profit handsomely when online access in the USA becomes effectively equivalent to shitty cable-tv service.
I can see that. Website packages, just like channel packages on cable.
- You can get all the shopping sites, and your ISP's streaming service in the base package. - Third-party Music Sites with Music Extra. - Third-party Video Sites with Video Extra.
Then there is the Several speed levels of the Unlimited plan starting at just $999/month.
Personal blogs, websites and Open Source project sites will be restricted to the top 5%. Everyone else will have to just deal with canned media from the big corporations and ISPs.
Re: Net neutrality is dying with a whimper
#8Net neutrality is dying because no one has been able to make a compelling case for it that can be understood by constituents, let alone politicians. There is one thing that just enough politicians do understand, however, and that's money. In their pockets. From ghouls who will profit handsomely when online access in the USA becomes effectively equivalent to shitty cable-tv service.
Funny, isn't it, that a free and neutral Internet is one of the key technologies that allowed the acerbic alt-right movement to bubble up from the fringes, to become grassroots, and then mainstream, finally to put Trump in office. Then, his team gleefully work to destroy it. I suppose they think that greedy, unfair measures that currently benefit themselves will never be handed to their opponents. That's a lesson the left never learned. sigh
Re: Net neutrality is dying with a whimper
#9Net neutrality is dying because no one has been able to make a compelling case for it that can be understood by constituents, let alone politicians. There is one thing that just enough politicians do understand, however, and that's money. In their pockets. From ghouls who will profit handsomely when online access in the USA becomes effectively equivalent to shitty cable-tv service.
I can see that. Website packages, just like channel packages on cable. - You can get all the shopping sites, and your ISP's streaming service in the base package. - Third-party Music Sites with Music Extra. - Third-party Video Sites with Video Extra. Then there is the Several speed levels of the Unlimited plan starting at just $999/month. Personal blogs, websites and Open Source project sites will be restricted to th…
And the average consumer will think that sounds great. Especially when you throw in a few services that don't count against their data cap.
Re: Net neutrality is dying with a whimper
#10Net neutrality is dying because no one has been able to make a compelling case for it that can be understood by constituents, let alone politicians. There is one thing that just enough politicians do understand, however, and that's money. In their pockets. From ghouls who will profit handsomely when online access in the USA becomes effectively equivalent to shitty cable-tv service.
I can see that. Website packages, just like channel packages on cable. - You can get all the shopping sites, and your ISP's streaming service in the base package. - Third-party Music Sites with Music Extra. - Third-party Video Sites with Video Extra. Then there is the Several speed levels of the Unlimited plan starting at just $999/month. Personal blogs, websites and Open Source project sites will be restricted to th…
Unfortunately, a future like that would even be preferable to what we will get, because that would be rejected by consumers.
Instead, they will squeeze outside media and tech companies behind the scenes and will stifle competition (and innovation) out of view of the consumer.