Obama says FCC should reclassify internet as a utility

[Hobbes]

The main point that I was trying to inject is that the money you pay monthly is far from all profit. The cost of building and maintaining the network is huge.

Yeah I think we all know about overhead costs, both fixed and variable.
That's true of all business, not just telecoms.

 

[Big_McLargehuge]

Why can't we just keep the same internet rules we have had for years?

I'll tell you why.

The telecoms sued in federal court and won.
The courts said as long as the FCC isn't regulating the ISPs as utilities they didn't have the authority to enforce the NN rules we have had until now.

Now, what does that tell you about what the telecoms are after?
They spent millions in the court system to sue for the right to throttle traffic and block websites because they expect to make billions off of selling access to it.

If you like the internet you've had so far you ad least need to recognize where the threat is coming from.
It's the big telecoms who pursued this in the court system for years and overturned existing law.

I know where the threat is coming from and I'm not disagreeing with you on that point. But I don't think the solution is to run to government mommy. In fact, that is why we are in this mess to begin with. Government-enforced cable monopoly. If we had actual competition, we wouldn't be having this discussion. This is just a perfect example of crony capitalism.

 

[Hobbes]

I know where the threat is coming from and I'm not disagreeing with you on that point. But I don't think the solution is to run to government mommy. In fact, that is why we are in this mess to begin with. Government-enforced cable monopoly. If we had actual competition, we wouldn't be having this discussion. This is just a perfect example of crony capitalism.

And the solution isn't to let the ISP do whatever they want to my internet service either.

The city negotiated a franchise with certain providers for services because we didn't want the .gov to be in the business of building infrastructure and leasing it out.
It wouldn't make sense for OGE and OEC to both build power infrastructure to my house.

 

[LightningCrash]

TheOatmeal's comic is interesting but wrong on a key point. They claim that Comcast throttled Netflix, when they did not. The slowdown in late Sep/early Oct 2013 occurred on more networks than Comcast, and it was primarily due to a new service that Netflix rolled out. The Netflix-Comcast deal actually has nothing to do with Net Neutrality.

That wouldn't make for good propaganda though.

 

[Hobbes]

TheOatmeal's comic is interesting but wrong on a key point. They claim that Comcast throttled Netflix, when they did not. The slowdown in late Sep/early Oct 2013 occurred on more networks than Comcast, and it was primarily due to a new service that Netflix rolled out. The Netflix-Comcast deal actually has nothing to do with Net Neutrality.

That wouldn't make for good propaganda though.

Well that's true. It happened on 5 internet service providers and not on 3

Here's the really sad part of this, we cox customers have the best there is, for now.
Those poor bastards on comcast.

 

[Big_McLargehuge]

And the solution isn't to let the ISP do whatever they want to my internet service either.

The city negotiated a franchise with certain providers for services because we didn't want the .gov to be in the business of building infrastructure and leasing it out.
It wouldn't make sense for OGE and OEC to both build power infrastructure to my house.

Well, the idea would be that if you don't like what the ISP is doing, then you can switch to a different one offering a competitive service. If you don't like what your ISP is doing and it's a utility, well, looks like we're back to square one. And we still haven't discussed the problems with government snooping on electronic communications.

I'm not going to pretend I have the answer to everything wrong with Internet service, but I'm also not going to pretend that handing it all over to the government is the answer to the problem.

I'll just keep hoping for Google Fiber to come to OKC.

 

[farmerbyron]

So a post above you said I may have not been paying for my internet service and now you are telling my I may be paying for someone else's internet service.

Which is it?

Cause I'm pretty damm sure I'm paying $60 a month for something.
And now you want me to endure slower internet and advertisements and blocked websites.

What service do you have that has done this?

 

[Shadowrider]

Commissioner Ajit Pai on Net Neutrality: "The concerns of small businesses need to be front and center in this debate, not an afterthought to an ideological crusade."

WISPA Net Neutrality Filing: "Title II includes a host of arcane provisions that have nothing to do with broadband service, including rules regarding interlocking directorates, valuation of carrier property, uniform systems of accounts and depreciation charts, telephone operator service, Bell Operating Company entry into interLATA services, manufacturing of telecommunication equipment and customer premises equipment, and electronic publishing."

Source

Just lovely...

 

[Hobbes]

What service do you have that has done this?

Your argument is circular.

The telecoms spent millions in the court system to make it legal to jack with your internet but they won't jack with your internet because they didn't jack with your internet when it was illegal to jack with your internet.

 

[Hobbes]

Just lovely...

Again, it was the big telecoms that upset the internet apple cart here, not the FCC.