On the importance of Net Neutrality by Steve Wozniak

[lxskllr]

So, go to the library...



So, go to the library...

Using socialism to prop up a "free market". That's an interesting approach...

You don't freeze to death without Internet.

I don't freeze to death without grid power, and no one else does either. There's still people in the USA that don't have grid power, and it wasn't that long ago, no one had it.

Telephone is arguably a safety tool - but yeah and "regulation" certainly was fun here wasn't it?.... You do realize that all of the progress from the past 30 years in telecommunications has been a direct result of the deregulation of the phone companies don't you? You probably remember life under AT&T/Bell System - if you don't I can go over that for you (hints: it was against the law to plug any device that was not owned by the phone company into the line, you had to pay extra for tone dialing, etc.). The portions of our telecommunications system that are still not completely deregulated are the ones that suck - i.e., a T1 (1Mb) is still like $500/month - ISDN (128Kb) $120/month if you can get it.

The reason we have a decent phone system is due to regulation, and monopoly. It took 100 years before it was mature enough to open up.

Is this some really misplaced ad hominem?

nope

If you want I can explain them to you - I'll even use small words.

No need. You really aren't as smart as you think you are, and there's little you could say that would confuse me ;^)

You basically have 4 choices:
1. You get a "tiered internet" where premium providers pay for premium access to subscribers - i.e., Netflix pays a little extra to ISPs to optimize their customer's online experience
2. You get a "tiered internet" where the ISP charges you per bit - like on shitty cell phone plans - you buy whatever "tier" you can afford - this is what we had in 1995 - it sucked.
3. Every ISP simply raises rates until their books balance
4. You leave the ISPs alone to manage their network - where they will tune, throttle and shape as necessary to keep most of their customers happy - particularly the ones who honor the contracts/terms of service.

4 is what we have now, and it works fine as long as it's data agnostic. If they can't handle the demand, they can upgrade equipment. A quick Google says that Comcast NETTED $866,000,000 in the first quarter of 2010, which also happened to be in the worst recession since the great depression. I think they might be able to afford network upgrades....

[internope]

The portions of our telecommunications system that are still not completely deregulated are the ones that suck - i.e., a T1 (1Mb) is still like $500/month - ISDN (128Kb) $120/month if you can get it.

Can't get ISDN? Where is this? You can get ISDN almost anywhere.

Without regulation no CLEC would have access to the physcial plant and there would be very little competition for telecom services. How do you propose the last-mile would work in a purely free market system?

LOL - do you know the first thing that was done after deregulation? They ripped out all the shitty (although pretty cool to watch run) equipment that AT&T thought was "good enough for government work".

Any specific examples?

[raptor]

Hmm, yes, everything must be done to stop the gubbmint from influencing the free market, even if it comes at the expense of the current free internet.

Please explain why metered is necessary to sustain ISP profits. Never mind the government (!) gave telecom companies billions of dollars to lay down fiber optic cabling in the late 90s/00s but haven't activated those services until a couple years ago (and still on a very limited basis). Instead they milked the hell out of the old copper network, charging exorbitant fees for premium service while places like Europe already (and still) enjoy 10-50x speed at a fraction of the cost.

[RobsanX]

Sounds like Net Neutrality is just crushing the ISP's ability to turn a profit...

NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC.N) posted a 22 percent rise in quarterly profit as it added more Internet customers and raised its dividend 20 percent.
The No. 2 U.S. cable television operator's profit growth and increasing return of cash to shareholders was offset with its continuing loss of TV customers during the quarter.
Like other cable companies, it faces growing competition for video customers from phone and satellite providers as well as Internet-based newcomers like Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) and Hulu.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...dsSector&rpc43

[ratcheer]

Yes. And I heard that AT&T's profit increased from ~$12 billion last year to ~$19 billion, this year. A 64% increase!

But they continue to try to eliminate competition and freedom to choose. They have a ton, but they want it all.

Tim