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Netflix and Alphabet will need to become ISPs, fast

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Re: Netflix and Alphabet will need to become ISPs, fast

#21

Post by aogl »

murph-almighty wrote: post #9
pascalxus wrote: post #5

This the end of innovation in online videos: "When companies like Netflix, which today closed with a market cap of almost $158 billion, can’t necessarily get enough negotiating power to ensure that consumers have direct access to them, no startup can ever hope to compete. America may believe in its entrepreneurs, but its competition laws have done nothing to keep the terrain open for them. Those implications are just…

All books are now sold with a small display attached that gives you a URL. The book is magnetically sealed until you take out your phone, navigate to that URL, and watch an ad.

Oh goodness! This actually sounds like something that could literally happen. Given how things are going..

Re: Netflix and Alphabet will need to become ISPs, fast

#22

Post by 0xffff2 »

haikuginger wrote: post #19
kec wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how 5G changes anything. Wireless providers were exempt from net neutrality even when it was in force and have a long history of tiered usage and throttling.

Having wireless providers who are able to provide landline-level speeds means that many markets will go from having one or maybe two real ISP options to having three or four. Competition means that if the benefits of net neutrality are desirable, customers will prefer an ISP (wireless or otherwise) that provides those benefits. Of course, most actual counterexamples to net neutrality are seen as positives (free Netfl…

Are these providers actually going to compete with landline ISP's? My landline ISPs over the last couple of years have had monthly data caps ranging from 256gb to 1tb. My cell plan currently throttles me after I exceed 6gb... That's two orders of magnitude that my wireless provider would have to increase the cap in order to compete with the landline ISP.

Re: Netflix and Alphabet will need to become ISPs, fast

#23

Post by ma2rten »

manofmanysmiles wrote: post #20
pascalxus wrote: post #5

This the end of innovation in online videos: "When companies like Netflix, which today closed with a market cap of almost $158 billion, can’t necessarily get enough negotiating power to ensure that consumers have direct access to them, no startup can ever hope to compete. America may believe in its entrepreneurs, but its competition laws have done nothing to keep the terrain open for them. Those implications are just…

This type of comment implies you think the world is static. I'm not saying that this good, but what makes you so sure market and social forces won't produce a better model? To me this is just a temporary setback, and a reminder why we need to focus on developing new technologies, like a "truly decentralized internet", blockchain, cryptography, and more. It almost feels like a the death throws of a monster that will d…

I don't want to be pedantic, but doesn't this comment imply that there will big changes and hence the world is non-static?

Re: Netflix and Alphabet will need to become ISPs, fast

#24

Post by pooya13 »

cirgue wrote: post #17
jedberg wrote: post #8

Lobbying the government to restore net neutrality is far cheaper than building out an ISP. Also, 5G is coming by the end of this year with at least two providers (Verizon and T-Mobile) and once that happens, ATT and Comcast won't have as much stranglehold on the ISP market, so NN may not matter anymore.

> Lobbying the government to restore net neutrality is far cheaper than building out an ISP. Also, I suspect that state-level legislative initiatives are going to be much easier to win than trying to sue executive agencies.

Just wondering. Would it matter if they win on state level if the traffic is slowed down on its route in another state? Also do the states even have the authority if the federal government wants to enforce the states to get rid of NN?

Re: Netflix and Alphabet will need to become ISPs, fast

#25

Post by inthewoods »

mikece wrote: post #2

Netflix seems to be hedging their bets by partnering with T-Mobile, the company aiming to bring 5G wireless to the US. As for Alphabet, I'm submitting this comment via my 1Gbps synchronous Google Fiber internet connection. Google seems to have stalled rollout of Fiber, however.

Yes they're also hedging their bets by getting distribution via Xfinity - I can watch Netflix through my Comcast cable box. This essentially reduces them to a "channel" ala HBO (albeit a deep channel).

Re: Netflix and Alphabet will need to become ISPs, fast

#26

Post by [deleted] »

ma2rten wrote: post #23
manofmanysmiles wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This type of comment implies you think the world is static. I'm not saying that this good, but what makes you so sure market and social forces won't produce a better model? To me this is just a temporary setback, and a reminder why we need to focus on developing new technologies, like a "truly decentralized internet", blockchain, cryptography, and more. It almost feels like a the death throws of a monster that will d…

I don't want to be pedantic, but doesn't this comment imply that there will big changes and hence the world is non-static?

[deleted]

Re: Netflix and Alphabet will need to become ISPs, fast

#27

Post by lotsofpulp »

sethhochberg wrote: post #6
pbreit wrote: post #3

Sounds like healthy competition?

I have a hard time getting excited about a world where every new business has to be fully vertically-integrated because their competitors are all being dicks to one another. Healthy competition only amongst those who have the resources to compete in all markets at once...

It's inevitable with the efficiencies brought by technology. You need fewer and fewer middlemen, and so you end up going vertical.

Re: Netflix and Alphabet will need to become ISPs, fast

#28

Post by craftyguy »

manofmanysmiles wrote: post #20
pascalxus wrote: post #5

This the end of innovation in online videos: "When companies like Netflix, which today closed with a market cap of almost $158 billion, can’t necessarily get enough negotiating power to ensure that consumers have direct access to them, no startup can ever hope to compete. America may believe in its entrepreneurs, but its competition laws have done nothing to keep the terrain open for them. Those implications are just…

This type of comment implies you think the world is static. I'm not saying that this good, but what makes you so sure market and social forces won't produce a better model? To me this is just a temporary setback, and a reminder why we need to focus on developing new technologies, like a "truly decentralized internet", blockchain, cryptography, and more. It almost feels like a the death throws of a monster that will d…

I was going to reply with some cynical remark about how the hole we are digging is deeper now than ever, and would take radical changes to climb out of, but I really like your positive spin on this. I'll try to consider it from that perspective moving forward.
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