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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

#31
No Net Neutrality, without Free Speech for online content.

I was a raging Net Neutrality supporter, but now I don't really care given Twitter/YouTube/Facebook abuse of neutrality towards speech.

No neutrality for words, but neutrality for packets? No wonder Net neutrality lost steam this time around.

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

#32
I am more than happy on two events, seeing if the FTC truly does resume their role as watch dog and prosecutor and seeing what Congress may end up doing.

With regards to all the panic and irrational reactions, we got to 2015 before the FCC decided to rewrite some rules and not others and we did fine. The FTC with FCC cooperation did work.

there are more than two sides to this argument and why we favor content providers exclusively over service providers would need to be addressed as well.

even some of the big high flying rollouts stalled or stopped when the rules first changed but it was fun watching many of them dance around the reasons.(FIOS and Google fiber pretty much are nothing). 5G is not a valid excuse. People decry the lack of high speed internet (the definition changes based of the techs savvy of who you talk too) but as someone who does a lot of road trips you would be amazed where you cannot get a cell signal and how often it happens

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

#33

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…

Sometimes a market cap of $158 billion causes everyone to want to get a share of the pie.

In other words, if Netflix was not so successful and making so much money, the pipelines would not be so interested in squeezing a dime from that sector.

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

#34
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The plan appears to be, yes: https://www.pcmag.com/news/357374/verizon-no-4g-level-data-c.... Verizon execs are throwing around 5G caps in that ballpark.

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

#35

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…

Is it? Startups manage to continue to exist on the Google Play Store and on the iOS App Store, even though Apple and Google directly compete with many of their offerings. Consumers basically have just two choices for mobile platform, but somehow that's enough competition to keep the kind of behavior you talk about in check.

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

#36

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.

quick patent it!

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

#37
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.

That news is so frustrating to hear: 1) It would help break up local ISP monopolies. Yes, internet is a bit of a natural monopoly, but if we can't have NN then lets start breaking ground for new fiber, 2) Google will need to lobby for changes in local regulations that prohibit local ISPs... which helps the local ISP startup market.

> 2) Google will need to lobby for changes in local regulations that prohibit local ISPs... which helps the local ISP startup market.

Google won't do that because of its political ties. To open up local ISP competition, you need to get rid of things like build-out requirements, loosen permitting requirements, reduce the ways people can stall installation of Fiber huts for NIMBY reasons, etc. Google will happily push for waivers of those requirements (as it did in every Fiber city), but cannot politically justify lobbying to eliminate those requirements for everyone else.

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

#38

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…

I just fail to see how Comcast or Verizon are going to be selling you their internet connection if you won't be able to connect to the things you want to connect to (like Netflix, iTunes, YouTube) through them. Especially on higher plans, people buy a lot of bandwidth so that they can stream videos, that's how ISPs up-sell to them. If they start throttling, they'll be selling an empty bucket, and it's not going to be very easy.

To me it seems like this might just revive competition between ISPs, by separating those who do the shady things and those who don't.

I'm curious how this is going to play out, it may not be all bad.

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

#39

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.

[deleted]

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

#40

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…

I just fail to see how Comcast or Verizon are going to be selling you their internet connection if you won't be able to connect to the things you want to connect to (like Netflix, iTunes, YouTube) through them. Especially on higher plans, people buy a lot of bandwidth so that they can stream videos, that's how ISPs up-sell to them. If they start throttling, they'll be selling an empty bucket, and it's not going to be…

You must live in one of the few places in the US where high-speed internet is available through multiple providers.

That is definitely not the norm. Most people won't be able to simply switch to the least nasty provider.

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