Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > MacNN Lounge > Take 30 seconds to write to the FCC - link inside

Take 30 seconds to write to the FCC - link inside
Thread Tools
Laminar
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 16, 2014, 11:52 AM
 
https://www.dearfcc.org

They provide a form for you to choose a couple options and add your thoughts. Now's the time to do something about it, and this is about as low-effort as it gets.
     
andi*pandi
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: inside 128, north of 90
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 08:28 AM
 
bumped for relevance. Signed.
     
turtle777
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 09:09 AM
 
I didn't sign it, because it merely uses net neutrality to ask for a free lunch.
However, net neutrality, if enforced as many want it, will make the internet MORE EXPENSIVE for everyone, so that a few can benefit from it.

THIS open letter was sent by Karl Denninger; it says exactly what the issue is, in terms that even a 10 year old can understand it.

-t
     
turtle777
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 09:24 AM
 
Oh, and for those that don't even want to take the time to read it, here is what it boils down to:
  • Net Neutrality
  • High Speed / Bandwidth
  • Flat Rate

You can only pick two.

-t
     
The Final Dakar
Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 10:55 AM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
Oh, and for those that don't even want to take the time to read it, here is what it boils down to:
  • Net Neutrality
  • High Speed / Bandwidth
  • Flat Rate

You can only pick two.

-t
Your list forgot something:
  • Net Neutrality
  • High Speed / Bandwidth
  • Flat Rate
  • Great corporate profits
You can pick 3.

We've had the first three for years, but for some *mysterious* reason its untenable now. That's the real reason why we're fighting over net neutrality.
The reason: companies promise us unlimited internet but won't upgrade their infrastructure to actually accommodate us when we use what they advertise and offer.
     
andi*pandi
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: inside 128, north of 90
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 11:10 AM
 
If Comcast/Verizon have to support other streaming services, they want to pass the cost onto the consumer (despite what dakar said about promising unlimited service)
If Netflix has to bribe Comcast/Verizon to let their traffic through, of course they're going to pass the cost on to the consumer too.

The consumer?
     
The Final Dakar
Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 11:18 AM
 
The vertical integration in the internet realm is a huge problem. There's a conflict of interest for those who are content creators and content distributors that also provide internet access. On top of that, some are trying to become CDNs in order to cover-up that they're trying to extort companies like Netflix who already pay for peering, but who's provider is running into "problems" with saturated ports with the ISPs who have lots of customers.

It's a manufactured problem. Let's see comcast and verizon upgrade those interconnects and how much it actually affects the bottom line. A one-time hardware upgrade isn't an ongoing cost.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Rock
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 11:39 AM
 
I`m totally ignorant about this issue after reading Turtle`s article. Isn't at least part of the problem solved by data caps? If you only want 50 GB service, you pay less. If you want 150, you pay more. If you want unlimited, you pay a lot more. How does that fit into the argument?
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
     
The Final Dakar
Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 11:45 AM
 
Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton View Post
I`m totally ignorant about this issue after reading Turtle`s article. Isn't at least part of the problem solved by data caps? If you only want 50 GB service, you pay less. If you want 150, you pay more. If you want unlimited, you pay a lot more. How does that fit into the argument?
Our ISPs have always advertised unlimited data, even in cases when there were unofficial caps. Further, they don't consider data caps, data caps, they call it "usage-based billing." So for data caps to be implemented, it'd be a step backwards from what they have always offered. Is that a bad thing? The way they act (and the public responds) yes, apparently it is.
     
Laminar  (op)
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 11:49 AM
 
Aha! Time Warner Cable ups Austin broadband speeds as Google Fiber looms | PCWorld

This is my favorite. With no change in infrastructure or subscriber cost, Time Warner just goes, "What? Competition?? Uh...here, let's sextuple your speeds. We could have done it earlier but didn't because, well, **** you."

Time Warner said all Austin customers will see download speeds increase. At the low end, the $15-per-month 2Mbps (megabit-per-second) service will be increased to 3Mbps downstream. The $65-per-month “Ultimate” 50Mbps service will see download speeds rise to as fast as 300Mbps. Upload speeds will jump at all tariffs except for the $15 service. “Ultimate” uploads will jump from 5Mbps to 20Mbps.
     
The Final Dakar
Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 12:05 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
Aha! Time Warner Cable ups Austin broadband speeds as Google Fiber looms | PCWorld

This is my favorite. With no change in infrastructure or subscriber cost, Time Warner just goes, "What? Competition?? Uh...here, let's sextuple your speeds. We could have done it earlier but didn't because, well, **** you."
I don't get it, because it feels like a panic move that only serves to illustrate how they were holding out. Wouldn't the smarter course of action be to slowly implement better speeds at google's rollout looms? I mean google just got clearance, they didn't even break ground yet, right?

But yeah, exhibit 1A as to why Time Warner shouldn't merge with Comcast.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Rock
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 12:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
Our ISPs have always advertised unlimited data, even in cases when there were unofficial caps. Further, they don't consider data caps, data caps, they call it "usage-based billing." So for data caps to be implemented, it'd be a step backwards from what they have always offered. Is that a bad thing? The way they act (and the public responds) yes, apparently it is.
Huh. Weird. You'd think they would be charged with false advertising if there were unofficial caps.

My ISP has a lineup of plans that increase in speed, allowed data, and pricing of course. Or you can choose your speed and just pay a flat extra rate for unlimited data. That seems like a better solution for everyone.
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
     
The Final Dakar
Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 12:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton View Post
Huh. Weird. You'd think they would be charged with false advertising if there were unofficial caps.
Ah, but here's the thing – they're difficult to prove. It's not like Comcast shut-off your internet once you hit the cap. No, instead they would throttle you.
     
Laminar  (op)
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 12:26 PM
 
And this doesn't happen to casual internet users - the only people hitting the caps are people torrenting 24/7. It's unlikely that someone participating in illegal activity would take to court an ISP that throttled their ability to take part in an illegal activity.
     
The Final Dakar
Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 12:27 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
And this doesn't happen to casual internet users - the only people hitting the caps are people torrenting 24/7. It's unlikely that someone participating in illegal activity would take to court an ISP that throttled their ability to take part in an illegal activity.
Arguably cord-cutters also hit the caps, watching several hours of video content per night from Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. But they, too, are a small (but growing) minority.
     
Laminar  (op)
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 12:56 PM
 
HD Netflix is about 2.3GB per hour (standard "Best Quality" is 1GB/hr). You could go over a 250GB data cap by watching 4 hours every day.

2.3GB/hr would saturate a 5Mb internet connection, so it's theoretically possible for anything faster than that to hit the data cap. Four hours a day sounds like a lot to me, but numbers show average TV use per day is 2.8 to 5 hours.
     
finboy
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Garden of Paradise Motel, Suite 3D
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 01:03 PM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
Arguably cord-cutters also hit the caps, watching several hours of video content per night from Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. But they, too, are a small (but growing) minority.
My favorite part is where Comcast/Xfinity speeds get really slow late in the billing month.

I don't have a problem with explicit pricing, but I want for EVERYONE to have explicit pricing, not just a few of us.
     
Laminar  (op)
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 01:08 PM
 
The PC in my theater room runs 24/7, so I actually set up an automated connection tester that checks ping, download, and upload speeds and logs them in a file. Over the course of three days, my 50Mb connection goes from ~100Mb download speeds down to <5Mb. Then I reset my modem and speeds immediately jump back up to ~100Mb. Then over the next three days it slows down again until it's unusable and I have to reset it. It's probably the crappy cable router that my ISP allows me to rent from them, but now that I have data I can file a complaint.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Rock
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 01:14 PM
 
I'm a cord-cutter and have hit extremely high numbers on occasion. I decided to back up my entire library to a remote server a while back, so I paid an extra $20 a month to get unlimited caps. I checked my ISP records out of curiosity and for about 5 or 6 months I averaged about 1.3 TB.
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
     
The Final Dakar
Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 01:15 PM
 
My DSL which suddenly got 7 Mb available 4 or so years back (from 3 Mb) started at 6.5 Mb, and now I'm having trouble getting it to register 4.75 Mb. It sucks.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Rock
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 01:52 PM
 
We go by Mbps up here. I generally float around 55-70 down, 9-10 up. For downloads I generally exceed my purchased bandwidth.
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
     
The Final Dakar
Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 21, 2014, 01:53 PM
 
Mbps is what I'm taking about.
     
   
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:27 AM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,