“If you like your wireless plan, you should be able to keep it. But new federal regulations may take away your freedom to choose the best broadband plan for you,” Ajit Pai, U.S. FCC Commissioner, and Joshua Wright, U.S. FTC Commissioner, write for The Chicago Tribune. “It’s all part of the federal government’s 332-page plan to regulate the Internet like a public utility — a plan President Barack Obama asked the Federal Communications Commission to implement in November and that is coming up for a vote Feb. 26.”
“While the plan contains no shortage of regulations, the most problematic may be the new ‘Internet conduct’ rule,” Pai and Wright write. “It’s a vague rule that gives the FCC almost unfettered discretion to micromanage virtually every aspect of the Internet, including the choices that consumers have for accessing it. If a company doesn’t want to offer an expensive, unlimited data plan, it could find itself in the FCC’s cross hairs. But restricting service plan options is inherently anti-competitive and anti-consumer. The inevitable results will be higher prices and less service for consumers along with an especially adverse impact on small providers and upstart competitors trying to differentiate themselves in a crowded market… And allowing new business models is critical to promote competition, particularly from smaller providers and new entrants. These entrepreneurs need the flexibility to experiment with different service plans so they can stand out from their larger competitors. Imposing a one-size-fits-all mandate from Washington would burden them, help the larger incumbents, reduce competition and stifle innovation.”
“The great irony here is that the Internet isn’t broken, and we don’t need the president’s plan to ‘fix’ it. Quite the opposite,” Pai and Wright write. “The Internet is an unparalleled success story. It is a free, open and thriving platform for civic and political engagement, economic growth, educational opportunity, entertainment and much more. It has made the United States the epicenter of innovation… Why would we want to neuter the FTC when the Internet has flourished under the current regulatory model? If all of this comes as a surprise, you’re not alone. The plan has not been made public. And the FCC has made it clear that it won’t be released until after the agency’s commissioners vote on it. This is not right. We should have an open, transparent debate about whether the president’s plan for Internet regulation is right for America’s consumers. In our view, it most certainly is not.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote over eight years ago:
We don’t presume to know the best way to get there, but we support the concept of “Net Neutrality” especially as it pertains to preventing the idea of ISP’s blocking or otherwise impeding sites that don’t pay the ISP to ensure equal access. That said, we usually prefer the government to be hands-off wherever possible, Laissez-faire, except in cases where the free market obviously cannot adequately self-regulate (antitrust, for just one example). Regulations are static and the marketplace is fluid, so extensive regulations can have unintended, unforeseen results down the road. We sincerely hope that there are enough forces in place and/or that the balances adjust in such a manner as to keep the ‘Net neutral. – MacDailyNews Take, June 9, 2006
Related articles:
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai: Obama’s plan a monumental shift toward government control of the Internet – February 10, 2015
Congress launches investigation as Republicans claim Obama had ‘improper influence’ over so-called ‘net neutrality’ – February 7, 2015
FCC chairman proposes to regulate ISP’s under Title II – February 4, 2015
U.S. congressional Republicans’ bill aims to head off Obama’s so-called ‘net neutrality’ plan – January 17, 2015
U.S. Congressional proposal offers Internet rules of the road – January 15, 2015
U.S. FCC says it will vote on so-called ‘net neutrality’ in February – January 3, 2015
FCC hopes its rules for so-called ‘net neutrality’ survive inevitable litigation – November 22, 2014
Obama-appointed FCC chairman distances himself from Obama on so-called ‘net neutrality’ – November 12, 2014
What does so-called ‘net neutrality’ mean for Apple? – November 12, 2014
AT&T to pause fiber investment until net neutrality rules are decided – November 12, 2014
There’s no one to root for in the debate over so-called ‘net neutrality’ – November 11, 2014
U.S. FCC plays Russian Roulette with so-called ‘net neutrality’ – November 11, 2014
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner: Republicans will continue efforts to stop misguided scheme to regulate the Internet – November 10, 2014
Tech Freedom: Obama cynically exploits confusion over Title II, misses opportunity to lead on legislative deal – November 10, 2014
Obama want FCC to regulate the Internet; Cruz calls it ‘Obamacare for the Internet’ – November 10, 2014
Obamanet…..
It would be “Obamanet” is he would let telecomm lobbyist Wheeler allowing the likes of Comcast arbitrary charging prices to access to Internet sites.
They already forced the likes of Netflix to pay for that, and under Article II redefinition it would be impossible.
Not that I sponsor change, this reads like fear mongering. (Much the same way, babies will die if we allow iPhones to be encrypted.
) Prices will go up if you enforce unlimited plans.
At some point, the Internet is a utility, like power, like gas, like cable. Instead of being optional, if you want to remain on par with the rest of society, you have to pick up service, not just any service, but unfettered. (you could live in a tent, if you want. Some do. But just putting it out there as an argument.)
The argument against regulation is that, no other regulated service, offers an unlimited option. Sure phone calls do, but it’s practically wrapped up in your internet data plan anyway.
It’s possible, the federal government wants unfettered speeds, so they can “spy” on citizens, with impunity and unnoticeable. Just following a logical path, not knowing if its true. Data is a two way street. As an example, my download speed, on fiber, is 30MB/s but my upload speed is 60MB/s. Why is that?
I think my main point, is that the argument as to why it shouldn’t be regulated, is a bit weak, when you compare ISPs to other utilities. If you want to stop regulation, you are going to have to come up with something better.
Unlimited telephone calling plans became available AFTER telephones were DE-regulated. Before that local calling cost more. Long distance was 20 cents per minute after 11:00 PM; twice that during the day. And that was when 20 cents was worth a lot more. De-regulating created opportunities for cheap calling plans, cell phones, and data (i.e. the internet). So called “net neutrality” regulations will not provide faster speeds nor upload speeds the same as download. It’s not clear that regulations will provide any benefits. It will, however, give politicians more power and the ability to impose more taxes (like the ones now on cell phone bills).
A lot of what you are talking about came about after the break up of the bell monopoly not de regulation. Most of the reduction in long distance cost came from the competition from cell phones offering free long distance.
The Bell monopoly was created by regulation. The breakup of the Bell monopoly was called de-regulation.
Um, You need to go reread your history. The Bell Monopoly was created, by… Well, Bell. They owned everything. The regulation that existed was because Bell owned everything. Including the Telephone that you used to talk on. It didn’t exist because of Regulation. And Bell charged out the a$$ because they COULD. Because they had NO Competition. And anytime anyone came around to challenge them, they would sue them out of existence.
There is a difference between what you THINK you know, and what ACTUALLY happened. There wasn’t any regulation on Bell telephone that made them do what they did.
It may have been *called* de-regulation, but since to this day, the phone companies are still a regulated public utility…it wasn’t.
What actually happened was that the existing regulation was altered, and some of Ma Bell’s Govt-sanctioned monopolies were stripped away, such as in ownership of telephony hardware and in long distance providers.
Nevertheless, the argument can be made that the period of sanctioned monopoly – – even with its abuses – – did successfully serve its purpose. For example, the 1949 revision to the Rural Electrification Act (REA) added phone service … without this (along with the high long distance rates to help pay for it), there very well could still today be huge rural regions (particularly in mid-America) without basic telephone service.
-hh
You do know that universal phone service was the result of government as well as the internet itself.
Quite frankly, you veered off course, Jus’ Sayin’:
First, the proposed degreguation isn’t about making the web faster: it is about prohibiting ISP’s from selectively making it slower.
The ISPs are against this proposal because it represents a “Bad for Business” risk on their profit margins. Note that Comcast’s Gross income is 70% and their Net Income is 14%, which is roughly 10x greater than a standard classical commodity provider, and which is also greater than what traditionally regulated utilities {electric, water} are permitted, which traditionally are the 8%-12% range.
Second, your claim that the regulations have no clear benefits … yet you then promptly go on to claim that it will benefit politicians – – is a self-contradiction.
The pragmatic reality is that this proposal is being heavily lobbied against by your ISPs because they don’t want to be obligated by regulation to provide their services.
Third (and more of an aside), telephony rates today may appear to be a good value, but are more structured to assure the company a reliable income stream even when the consumer underutilizes the offered service. If you call your local Bell, you’ll find that they basically only offer two plans: an expensive ‘unlimited’ one and a “cheap” one which still costs over $25/month even if you never pick up the phone.
Fourth, the “impose more taxes’ is YA example of the purposeful Fear-Mongering deception which is purposefully being perpetrated by these articles.
-hh
Yes, it is precisely fear-mongering
(as was pointed out in last week’s article on this same subject).
The bottom line is that the internet is no longer a luxury item that the public can do without, and from an infrastructure perspective, it is a “natural monopoly” very much like water, sewer, electricity, telephone which are highly susceptible to abuse of said monopoly power.
Granted, the current status quo is a duopoly (Cable + Phone), not a monopoly, but that’s a pedantic hair-splitting exercise.
What over 4 million public comments sent to the FCC have been calling for is improved protection of the consumer from predation by a few huge corporations who possess ‘natural monopoly’ power over what’s evolved over the past 30 years to now become an essential service.
Anyone who wishes to disagree that this isn’t just raw politics of power who don’t like the idea that the Government might actually dare to intervene to protect the consumer a little better … is free to drop all of their internet service providers for not less than six months and go back to writing ‘snail mail’ letters. See how that works out for ya 😉
-hh
The average individual will be finding this issue very difficult to follow. Like almost everything else in US public affairs this issue has become a political football. On one side we have big business, who want to operate unfettered by government control. Business buys political support through donations to political parties, and the various election funds for individual reps and senators. Appointees to government bodies like the FCC are also politicised, with each side of politics attempting to choose those who support their general, or specific, views.
While it might be true that the Internet is not broken now, there are sufficient grounds to expect that internet service providers will tweak their service levels to increase their profitability (as AT&T did recently when they throttled their unlimited plans) or to priorities traffic for their own content or that of content providers who pay for the privilege.
On the other side you have consumers, who want open, flexible, unrestricted access to everything.
The problem is that the American consumer cannot trust any of the players or commentators. Honesty is no longer considered a valuable commodity in American life and has long since disappeared from the political sphere.
I agree there is a major lack of honesty from government, corporations and news channels these days. It gets depressing.
But in this case we started with an Internet that didn’t bias data speeds based on data-type or end-location. A regulation requiring that Internet stays unbiased is consumer and business friendly, not to mention democracy friendly.
That is not to say the government can’t screw up an attempt to do the right thing.
1a. Claim: Internet is not broken
1b. Counterclaim: Comcast
2a. Issue: Internet security.
2b. Blame game ? everybody.
3a. Internet as a utility ?
3b. If one views proper internet access as a part of modern American society, then why not.
3c. If one views internet as something which a large portion of Americans do not deserve, then…. somebody needs to go back to school.
Partial Conclusion: Internet needs improvement. But the current solutions are a morass.
1c. Comcast is not the Internet.
2c. Huh?
3d. What then is not a part of American society?
3e. Deserve? Why? Because they breath? What do I not deserve, by your definition, simply because I exist?
3f. Who shall provide me with everything I “deserve???”
3G: The Internet has done fine without the interference of people like Barack Obama. It does not need a ridiculous Obamacare-esq regulatory nightmare to continue to flourish. It stands as a monument to spontaneous order. It fixes ITSELF which was one of its primary design requirements. Once again, 4 or 5 simply stated rules of ISP behavior would have been all that was needed but give the government a foothold and it will try to seize everything.
“… Once ObamaNet ropes ISPs into Title II, they would need FCC approval for new products, business models, data-traffic operations, and more. Rather than focus on inventions and improvements, Silicon Valley executives would have to machete their way through Title II’s 682 pages and 987 rule sections. They could ask “forbearance” from these regulations. Good luck. According to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the FCC makes the average applicant wait 372 days — one year and one week — for an answer. Since 1996, about 69 percent of such requests have failed, at least partially. This is heaven for attorneys and hell for software coders, entrepreneurs, and consumers…”
The main point of his post is no. 1, which you didn’t answer. Comcast is just an example why internet IS broken indeed. Verizon is another. These companies charge consumers money for specific bandwidth; then they charge others to prioritise traffic. More importantly (and worse) I can’t watch Netflix properly on my Verizon FiOS (50Mbps plan), because Verizon is offering competing service. my bandwidth is plentiful for Netflix, but it still stutters. Comcast and Verizon are just two for which I know. There are others. Internet is broken and needs fixing.
3b and c) The sun, the wind, and the rain are part of American society. Everybody deserves them so they should be regulated utilities too!
Invalid analogy, because there is no manmade corporation who invented sun/wind/rain …
…let alone who then built the infrastructure to deliver the sun/wind/rain to my doorstep …
…who would have a basis to thus be fairly compensated.
If corporations could provide access to the sun wind and rain, these corporations would require regulations…
3b) Sex is part of American life. It should not be denied to anyone, so the government should regulate that too. “Nooky Neutrality!” Then they can tax your woody!
The Government does regulate sex. There are numerous laws about age, rape, and prostitution. Adulterous sex, interracial sex, homosexual sex, have all been illegal. Several states still have laws against these, although they’re not able to enforce them. Birth control, both before and after sex, is a huge legal battle in this country. With the contradiction of the party that’s in favor of more government control is against regulating sex. While the party that is antigovernment is busy creating laws about what we can do in our bedrooms.
Yet another power grab by SFB Obama.
Yet another meaningless comment from a blatantly biased source. Party-biased partisanship non-thinking is a major part of this problem and many others.
And I am not a fan of Obama.
Not to worry, because when his Islamist friends take over the US, the Internet will finally be outlawed under a Fatwa.
Do you want to live in a dictatorship? Then give control of all communications to Barack Obama. He said he wants to “radically transform America”. He did not like the America based on freedom and the Constitution. His goal is to end all that and become our Fidel. Fidel controls the Cuban internet. China controls the Chinese internet. Obama aspires to be a dictator like Fidel (Raul – whoever) and the Chinese tyrants. And he has enough dimwitted useful idiot supporters here to stand with their hands in their pockets while he steals their freedom of speech and that of all Americans. Get ready for a rough ride. Our Marxist in Chief is ready to rumble.
I have a hard time believing you’re as stupid as you portray yourself. To be a successful troll, you’ll have to moderate the excessive idiocy.
Knowing you voted for Obama I have no difficulty being certain you are as brain dead as a rock. You voted twice for this Muslim America hating Marxist. And every element of the statement I just made was easily learned by anyone who spent a few minutes investigating this lunatic before he was elected. I did that. You watch Comedy Central for your news. You wear ignorance as a badge of pride. Well read up. He was raised by communist grandparents because his Marxist father abandoned him, assuming he was the real father. His main mentor growing up was Frank Davis, a pedophile communist poet. All of this is in Obama’s own books. Supplement that with basic biographies and you have the Marxist you chose. And he believes in Marxism. Which means he believes in the government controlling everything, which is what he has demonstrated for the past 6 years so unless you are blind as well as stupid you know this.
Time for you to quit being an imbecile and start fighting the monster you helped put in power. Unless you want your iPad and iPhone to just be expensive music players.
The headline is wrong.
One Republican FCC and One Republican FTC member have a problem with what the Democratic majority on the commissions are proposing.
Not the same as the result of a board vote.
Next- the Chicago Tribune is a Republican rag.
DavGreg, remove the partisan claptrap. Have you even taken a look at the size of the proposal? You should intuitively know its bullshit. The only way anyone could possibly back this thing is that they enjoy watching things get screwed up. That’s the only way.
Did not say that I approved of the proposal, just that 2 commissioners appointed to be in the opposition who oppose the majority view is not news. It also does not represent the view of either commission.
The FTC and FCC operate under a system where only the balance changes by appointment- there will always be Republicans on them even under a Democrat and the inverse also. It is how these institutions work.
The headline would have you believe that the FCC and FTC have a problem with Wheeler’s position. In truth, only the Republican Commissioners do.
I did not make it partisan- just stating factual information. These bodies are highly political.
No – you have it wrong. People who love freedom and despise liberty have a problem with the government regulating speech. It used to be Democrats had a problem with the government regulating speech. But Democrats used to actually have morals and even liked the idea of America. That is not the case now. Democrats today are Marxists and they want to turn America into Cuba. Or China. They are disgusting slimy immoral thugs. Nothing more. Like you.
@Kent wrote: “Democrats … are disgusting slimy immoral thugs. Nothing more”
You sound like the kind of person around whom one shouldn’t make any sudden moves.
You sound like a douche.
No, you’re merely hearing your own vacant echo.
More completely empty statements from a vacuous hole. If you have something solid to say in defense of the man who admits to hating America and who has brought death to all parts of the world say it. Maybe you too think Muslims lop of heads of innocent Christians because they don’t have enough jobs, like the bozo big eared President you helped inflict on the world. Defend the jackass. That should be fun to see.
I am not a Democrat and am damn sure not a Republican. The Democratic Party is inept and corrupt and the Republican Party is a whorehouse to a cabal of big money interests served by millions of sheeple who have been conned into voting against their own interest.
The Obama Administration’s Net Neutrality Proposal Could Change the Internet Forever—but the FCC is Keeping it Secret
The FCC wants to regulate the Internet as a utility, but won’t release its full plan.
http://reason.com/blog/2015/02/06/the-obama-administrations-net-neutrality
A Net Loss for America
Obama’s push to regulate the Internet like a public utility will stifle competition and innovation.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/mark-davis/2015/02/11/obamas-net-neutrality-plan-is-just-more-burdensome-government-regulation
The present ‘Status Quo’ has local & State laws which -> currently <– stifle competition (and thus, innovation) across 40% of the country.
If we want to abolish **restrictions** on competition, one of the ways to do that would be to have the FCC use its existing authority to preempt State/Local regulations…so why be opposed to taking that precise action?
What are those laws?
What areas are they used?
Golly TowerTone, for someone with extremely strong opinions on this subject, you certainly don’t bother to stay up-to-date on the industry news.
For example, here’s a URL that was provided in the *previous* MacRumors article on this FCC regulation topic:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/02/isp-lobby-has-already-won-limits-on-public-broadband-in-20-states/
To discuss them overly broadly, some are ~State level and explicitly aimed to prohibit local municipalities from establishing their own ISP (typically motivated locally when the local commercial ISPs suck), but there’s also many more local instances where there’s “Sole Source” vendors which lacked adequate competition (such as defined in the FAR). Similarly, there’s also been instances where a corporation (typically the local telephony) is effectively granted public property with basically no strings attached…specifically, no fiduciary responsibility to use the Public property that they were entrusted with to assure the Public Good.
In short, you have a lot of reading to do to get caught up, so better log off of MR and get to it.
Anytime you want to do your cut and paste I’m ready.
All Your Questions About Obama’s Internet Plan Answered
This is the nicest most pro-Obama article I can find (except for insane THE INTERNET BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE nut soup articles.)
http://time.com/3575950/obama-internet-net-neutrality/
“The U.S. ranks a shocking 31st in the world in terms of average download speeds. The leaders in the world are Hong Kong at 72.49 Mbps and Singapore on 58.84 Mbps. And America? Averaging speeds of 20.77 Mbps, it falls behind countries like Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Uruguay.””huge telecommunication companies” such as Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon, and AT&T have “divided up markets and put themselves in a position where they’re subject to no competition.”….http://theweek.com/articles/449919/american-internet-slow
Why do the same silly comparisons get made every time NN is brought up?
What in NN do you think is going to speed up you internet?
Answer that in a real world application.
And another thing….those comparisons are such childish bullshit. Learn the value of real relation-mathematics, not some useless similarities.
They come up because arguing with knuckle heads here always devolves to right wing partisan claptrap, and the tea baggers here are so quick to throw around marxist, socialist, commie, et cetera while sharing their blabber. The contempt for cultures and systems not ‘Merican is palpable.
So, whilst pointing out the illogical backing of crony capitalism from so called conservatives who are so ardently opposed to the government reigning in the Time Warners, the Comcasts, the Verizons of this world (All of which were built on taxpayer subsidies no less) one must see where we rank in the world and point out that those places are doing it better than the land of the free, home of the brave. You are just to damn stupid to get it. America invented the internet, yet we are 31st go figure.
Wow, so smart and yet so smug.
You wrote a lot and STILL answered the question wrong, mainly because you are so blinded by political animosity and can’t see the reality.
Other than ‘fast lanes’, how is NN going to up your speed and add more access? (be specific)
The comparison tells more about the size of countries and population densities than internet speeds. Study that before knee jerking your foot into your mouth.
Now scream all you want about how much smarter you are than stupid Conservatives. I’ll believe it when you can prove it.
Back at you, tell me in specific detail how regulation is going to hurt me. Not conjecture, tell me what it specifically will do to me the day it is enacted?
They have had all the chance in the world to improve, all they can do is devise schemes to invest as little as possible, gouge as much as possible and then deliver shit service. Do you know how many people Comcast screws on a monthly basis? The customers are clamoring for change, for a voice, and all Comcast has is contempt. Comcast drinks the wall street koolaid, they want to eek out as much profit, while delivering as little as possible, what would happen to Apple under this model? Ask Dell…
Who is going to force this change? There is NO competition. In this era people need internet to get things done, for school, for finance, for career, for entertainment. Barring some miracle or regulation, the status quo is preserved, nothing changes, this is the history, tell me why it is going to change without regulation forcing it too?, it isn’t.. Comcast is going to suddenly stop their nefarious practices? I doubt it. Are they going to willingly allow competition over their subsidized infrastructure, NOPE. So what becomes the catalyst for change if not regulation? The people cannot simply go without, so their abuse continues.
It is in the public good that they are reigned in. Any steps to enforce regulation on these abusive monopolists is a good first step. First neutrality, then speed and access, then shady business practices. I hope they get kicked in the teeth and good.
One thing is clear, Comcast and Time Warner are not going to self-regulate and fix it. Barring everyone abandoning the internet (Impossible) regulation is all the people have isn’t it? What do you propose?
yeah…regulation is going to take care of allllllll that.
Just sit back and watch the world come to you.
You can’t just propose to over-regulate something and then say
-‘no, you tell me what will happen without it’.
YOU make an argument FOR it telling what it WILL do and HOW.
No wonder Barry gets his way with confused kids like you that think Obamacare is a rousing success.
Lack of substantive material response to the topic … noted.
You do realize that the USA is multiple times bigger than those countries? Much more difficult to cover all those fly over states.
He’s an ‘artist’…what do you think?
Good thing Steve Jobs didn’t share your contempt for arts now isn’t it. Douche.
Did you wash that extrapolation off after pulling it out of your ass?
Ther is no correlation between someone claiming to be an artist, their knowledge of ISP access, and my appreciation of art.
But, I guess if you can’t discuss the facts….
Almost 40 % of our population is concentrated in 25 metro areas which, in relative terms, are a small percentage of the square miles that compose the United States. Thus, saying “You do realize that the USA is multiple times bigger than those countries?” is specious. But it is a good chance for you and your virtual bud to be, well, smug.
You do understand that you just made my argument….right?
No, you probably have no clue.
Ahhh….the intellect of the Left on display here.
Let me help you. If you take that 40% you speak of and dump the rest of the country, you raise the average MBPS speed, shorten fiber connections and put more money into bigger and better POPs.
Narrow it down even more on par with the size of most of the top 25 countries and you might start to see a pattern.
(there may be a test Monday so study hard over the weekend)
“…federal regulations may take away your freedom to choose the best broadband plan for you”
Ha! TimeWarner has already done that through the monopoly they have in the town where I live. The currently unregulated internet service industry has not spawned competition and better service as a result.
You don’t have a telephone company in your town?
Get a grip.
Apples and Oranges and you know it Kunt. His point stands in direct conflict with you baggers and your all regulation is bad mentality.
As the big providers currently sit: Mostly unregulated, NO Competition, Shit Service, price gouging, all built with Taxpayer subsidies. Now they want to limit your speeds accessing things like Netflix so they can further gouge you by pushing you to their inferior competing products (Monopoly Abuse) and as usual Republicans like you champion the crony capitalists. Fuck off.
Kent,
I have 3 companies in my “Town”
Consolidated Communications, Suddenlink and Verizon. Verizon will bring Telephone Service to my house, but won’t do Internet, Suddenlink will do Internet and has started offering “Limited” phone service and Cable. And Consolidated, which in the same down just a few minutes away, will provide Tellphone, Cable and Internet Services, offers NONE of those things at my home. I am in the City Limits of a town about 65,000 people just north of Houston. So what does a Telephone Company have to do with it. The only place I can get Telephone Service is from Verizon, but they don’t offer Internet. So What exactly is your point?
Verizon doesn’t offer DSL? That’s odd.
Also, the Devil may be in the details of what you just described.
When there is too MUCH competition in a market, it’s hard to justify overbuilding another company or two just to get a small percentage of the business. ROI could take years.
Most towns and cities with a cable company that has a franchise agreement must offer service to all within the city limits. Of course this might vary, especially in towns with competition.
DSL in most markets isn’t even fast enough to be realistically be called High Speed anymore. Local telco’s haven’t kept pace with Cable broadband. DSL is a joke.
Fios is currently in 20 cities. TWENTY
Yes, I know the speed of DSL lacks for many, but not all.
It is still viable for most older people.
Now the thing is a few years ago DSL gave cable a good run in most markets. What happened? You can only squeeze so much frequency bandwidth out of a twisted pair, so cable competed and kick DSL’s ass.
Now phone is trying to come back with fiber to the curb or house (cable is mainly to the ‘node’ or neighborhood save for business customers).
I think if the economy were to ever pick back up, fiber would be run even more which would put cable back at needing to upgrade again.
You over-regulate an area, you take away financial incentive.
Then it will be only the highest taxed areas that get good service.
News Flash: Verizon has already bailed on FIOS .. a business decision they made years ago, before any specter of regulation had even begun.
Why did they do it? Because they decided that there wasn’t ENOUGH profit for them … even for deploying to just those 25 big metro areas which contain 40% of the population.
The only thing Verizon is doing right now is trying to market FIOS to the population who’s already within their developed fiber grid, to encourage them to switch from cable.
Problem is that they’re not competing with better value, but the same games as cable, with short term “discounted” rates for new customers … only to lose them when that rate expires – churn which isn’t sticky, because they really aren’t any better.
BTW, the Economy has gotten better … pedantically, the Great Recession ended by mid-2009, so we’ve had 5+ years of growth & economic expansion since then (true, slow, but we’re now a half decade removed). Plus from a business investment perspective, loan rates are still at/near historic lows, which makes the cost of money for business profoundly cheap.
So where’s Verizon’s announcements of major new infrastructure investments? if they really had intent, they would have made such an announcement way back in 2013.
The guvment wants control. It blocks out the new comers and lesser players by letting VZ & T monopolize the spectrum auctions.
Ajit is at it again and his choice of words, much less his choice of publication, show us his stripes. This is like a really poor attempt at word-smithing a la Frank Luntz. So, an uncompetitive “restriction,” like saying that providers might need to have an unlimited plan in their repertoire is limiting the possibilities? Yes, what company in their right mind would want to offer an expensive higher margin product to it’s consumers? This is right up there with protesting the FCC’s emphasis that if you say your cellular plan is unlimited, it should really actually be unlimited. Hell, choose a different term for marketing if you don’t want the common definition of “unlimited” to hold you accountable as a business. If by flourishing, Ajit means milking consumers for subpar services with a commercial landscape that has already basically led to ever growing monopolies (Time Warner/Comcast?), then I’d prefer to try another path. This guy’s politics seem to be getting in the way of his decision-making.
There are no words coming out of his mouth that money cannot buy.
pai for potus
Can I just point out that all this was CREATED by the Government in the first place? Remember DARPA? All of us that make a living off the ability to interact on a packet-switched network… Well, That was a government created Job.
And anyone who thinks for one second a CORPORATION is going to do ANYTHING other than make sure they Maximize profits at the expense of everyone else. Especially when there is little to NO Competition for internet access in most areas, are OUT of their EVER LOVING MIND.
When the internet began, when it should have been most expensive, it cost me $20.00 for the phone line and $9.95 a month for ALMOST unlimited access in 1995. Now, I am almost to the point where I’m paying double that PER DEVICE. I have download limits on my Phone, iPad, and Computer at home. My Cable Company limits my download and charges me extra if I go over, and so does my Cell Phone company. I can switch my Cell phone company, but only after my contract runs out because I have to buy a new phone. However, I have NO other options for High-Speed Internet at my home.
It’s a utility, it may not be a monopoly, but it is an Oligopoly, which in a lot of ways is much worse than a monopoly, because it gives the illusion of competition in the marketplace when none actually exists.