Republican Sponsored Bill to Kill Internet Neutrality...Again

a reply to: muse7

Net neutrality is designed to keep the Internet neutral, or how it is right now with no website receiving preferential treatment over another.

Except that something designed by the Government is not going to work as intended and will have unforeseen consequences. Look, I know you liberal types love Government to control every aspect of life, but as a Libertarian I don't want the Government turning everything to crap which is the inevitable result of their involvement.

a reply to: Metallicus

I consider myself a Libertarian but I'm also a veteran of the IT game and I know that the Free Market can't fix this. The backroom price-fixing and shared monopolies aside, they're trying to fix the game so your internet service comes in packages like your TV service does now, with access to certain things costing more per month. On top of that, they're trying to (and even succeeded in the case of Netflix) in charging websites more money or facing throttling. And in the case of Netflix, even when they DID pay, they were STILL caught throttling them.

You may say, well if you don't like switch providers.

That's all well and good, but 90% of the time, ISPs have deals with apartment blocks to carry only ONE internet option, and many neighborhoods and HOAs have these same deals. I remember I was unhappy with my cable internet when I lived in Oklahoma. I knew DSL was available in the town also, so I called them to switch. I was told that cable was my only option for where I lived. The story is even worse in rural areas, where many times there's only ONE option at all, and unless you move to a different town entirely you can't switch.

So the Free Market can't fix this. I'd love it if the internet were to stay as it was in say 2006. But the telecoms got dollar signs in their eyes and plucked too many of the hen's eggs.

These people are dumb. They don't understand anyone raised on the internet is hyper aware of what they're doing. That's why records broke with callers and supporters of net neutrality. They're messing with a very big bear that will snap and cripple these old bags before they even know what hits them. They think pirating is bad now? Watch what happens when they attempt to control it. Morons. Corrupt old hags, the Good Ol Boys, need to be hung. Most of these idiots, along with people calling it Obamanet have a very thin understanding of the internet. And once those morons do repeal Obamanet, they'll start whining again, because their service cost will be more than their rent.

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: muse7

Net neutrality is designed to keep the Internet neutral, or how it is right now with no website receiving preferential treatment over another.

Except that something designed by the Government is not going to work as intended and will have unforeseen consequences. Look, I know you liberal types love Government to control every aspect of life, but as a Libertarian I don't want the Government turning everything to crap which is the inevitable result of their involvement.

The internet was designed by the government. The network you and I are using to argue this? It was built with taxpayer dollars and then given for free to private companies with the stipulation that they would invest some of the profits to upgrade it.

We're at the point now where upgrades are required. The ISP's however don't want to pay, because doing so is VERY expensive. So what they're instead trying to do is engage in practices that will reduce data consumption. Removing streaming video, internet packages that reduce people to only a few websites, and so on. The idea is to reduce usage, while simultaneously boosting TV subscriptions. This way they can put off the expensive upgrades for a few more years.

The rest of the world doesn't agree with this package though, and is moving to more data usage. If we do what the ISP's want, American companies will fall behind. The market will move on and cater to those who can adapt, and those of us in the US won't be able to do a damn thing about it because our ISP's are monopolies and will continue providing a worse product to the detriment of us all because it's cheaper.

Like it or not, the government had to step in here. EVERYONE would have preferred if they didn't have to but the ISP's have not done what they're supposed to do, and their current actions are bordering on criminal negligence. Should we as a society let that happen?