Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm not sure what to think of net neutrality either. I understand the argument that netflix should pay more when they use 25% of internet bandwidth, but would that really result in us, the consumer, having lower prices as a result? Netflix would pass on the cost to us by charging more for a subscription but would the ISPs really lower prices or increase speeds? I doubt it. Most of them have monopolies on their local communities anyways. As long as they can continue to monopolize the local cable provider game I support net neutrality in theory.. should be able to access any website and internet should act like a medium to provide access to the sites, with no throttling or censoring in any way.
I don't want to be paying for ala carte internet .. I'd rather just pay for the set amount of bandwidth like is done today... 250GB is plenty for me.. though it would not be if I had a wife and 2 kids.
It's only cricket wireless and their crazy high bandwidth caps that have allowed me to put extra leverage on my local cable provider to deal or I would cancel and just have mobile internet which I value more than home internet.
50% of the Broadband in the United States is under comcast control, more of it if/when they get a hold of TWC.
67% of Americans have 2 or less choices regarding broadband in their area (FCC 2013)
so maybe the "plethora" only applies to the remaining 30 some odd percent who have broadband not gobbled up by one of these companies. lets stop pretending there is competition in this space. . .it really just speaks to being uninformed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyTexan
And if you don't like the physical cable provider you can go satellite or mobile broadband. Verizon's coverage is excellent.
1 - Verizon is not a "home broadband provider" sure their speeds are decent enough these days (in most places) but they price the service in a way that makes it impossible. 100 gigabyte plan is $700 per MONTH. Seriously. .that is competition?
2 - Satellite has decent enough "downloads" but no real upload capability. Therefore. . it really sucks. No one with true broadband would find it acceptable, including the FCC (Sattelite upload speeds not high enough to be classified as broadband).
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyTexan
I'm out in the middle of nowhere and I have choices.AT&T is catching up though and are now in my area as well.
your personal internet choices aren't really part of the discussion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyTexan
The issue is not choice if ISP..the issue is with content providers who all want to hog the internet with their HD streaming and not lag.
really?
So what, I pay for 30, 50, or 150mbps down speeds. . .and if I use 4mbps or even 7mbps of that 50 on a netflix stream. . i'm Hogging?
Plus - yeah, no. If I want to use 50mbps down downloading my latest video game OR watching 5 streams in HD of netflix thats my choice. If Comcast didn't like it, they shouldn't offer a 50mbs down tier
The issue remains not the size of the lanes or comcast/isp capability to provide fast internet speed, or even the amount of interconnects. The truth is its a smokescreen that Verizon and Comcast want you to believe so you support them making netflix more expensive, so you buy their services instead.
Maybe start listening to some tech shows, or podcasts, because you have no idea how the infrastructure works.
I'm not sure what to think of net neutrality either. I understand the argument that netflix should pay more when they use 25% of internet bandwidth, but would that really result in us, the consumer, having lower prices as a result?
I call huge amount of BULL#@!! on that
Why is netflix such a large part of bandwidth? Because you the customer are ReQUESTING it
Okay, why? because you like it
How, because you bought a pipe from Comcast that says you get XYZ speed.
You shouldn't have to pay again (Via netflix or comcast) just because your friends and you all like the same site
you paid once for that connection to netflix, its done
The reality is. . .Comcast and others don't WANT you going to netflix. They know you don't have a choice on Broadband provider. . so they can F' over your netflix connection until netflix pays $$$. . even though YOU ALREADY PAID for that connection.
Why is netflix such a large part of bandwidth? Because you the customer are ReQUESTING it
Okay, why? because you like it
How, because you bought a pipe from Comcast that says you get XYZ speed.
You shouldn't have to pay again (Via netflix or comcast) just because your friends and you all like the same site
you paid once for that connection to netflix, its done
The reality is. . .Comcast and others don't WANT you going to netflix. They know you don't have a choice on Broadband provider. . so they can F' over your netflix connection until netflix pays $$$. . even though YOU ALREADY PAID for that connection.
What a scam
Same femtocell double-dipping bullsh%t everyone has forgotten about. It scares me how short the average American memory is.
1 - Verizon is not a "home broadband provider" sure their speeds are decent enough these days (in most places) but they price the service in a way that makes it impossible. 100 gigabyte plan is $700 per MONTH. Seriously. .that is competition?
2 - Satellite has decent enough "downloads" but no real upload capability. Therefore. . it really sucks. No one with true broadband would find it acceptable, including the FCC (Sattelite upload speeds not high enough to be classified as broadband).
You eat up 100GB of data a month ?
I'm on the 10GB plan and some months have leftover.
And I do watch TV and movies on the internet.
It's actually more solid than the DSL I was on in my previous place.
What I don't do is stream 24/7 though.
There are plenty of folks happy with satellite because of the little they do on the internet.
How many "consumers" really upload ? They do email, peruse a few internet sites and maybe watch a movie or two.
I'm not sure what to think of net neutrality either. I understand the argument that netflix should pay more when they use 25% of internet bandwidth, but would that really result in us, the consumer, having lower prices as a result? Netflix would pass on the cost to us by charging more for a subscription but would the ISPs really lower prices or increase speeds? I doubt it.
Why would Netflix pass on the cost to me? I don't use their streaming service.
I'm being a little punchy. But it highlights the point. The problem with the system is that there is a disconnect between price and value. This disconnect is the result of a broken marketplace scenario, perpetuated by consumer irrationality. In a nutshell, if the world was right and good, people would pay for Internet service by the bit perhaps with different pricing based on current network traffic - just like electricity and water is priced in many areas, with higher prices for usage during peak hours, and of course higher costs for higher levels of consumption.
There is no way for service providers to switch to such metered service without being the victim of a PR bloodbath. That's why the system is broken and shall remain so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisFromChicago
You shouldn't have to pay again
I already paid for my car - why should I have to pay for each gallon of gasoline? /SARC
I'm on the 10GB plan and some months have leftover.
And I do watch TV and movies on the internet.
It's actually more solid than the DSL I was on in my previous place.
What I don't do is stream 24/7 though.
There are plenty of folks happy with satellite because of the little they do on the internet.
How many "consumers" really upload ? They do email, peruse a few internet sites and maybe watch a movie or two.
I don't buy the "plenty of people are happy with satellite uploads" or the "I only need 10GB and so should you" argument. It's like saying just because you and some other people drive one mile to work who needs a car with a gas tank larger than one gallon? Just because you and a bunch of old people who barely use the internet don't need it doesn't mean no one else does either.
Plenty of people need decent upload speeds. Have you checked how many videos are on YouTube lately? The site gets 300 hours of video uploaded every minute. I recently took some 1080p videos on my smartphone and uploaded them. They were about five minutes long and ran about 400MB in size. Do you know how long ONE of them would have taken to upload on a satellite connection?
I got a digital copy of Assassin's Creed Unity free when I bought my Xbox One. Downloading a single game slurped up over 39GB of data. Hell, when I turned the console on yesterday it downloaded an update that was 2GB in size.
The only way to make Verizon Wireless into a decent home internet option for the average person is if they go out and buy a line with a grandfathered unlimited internet feature. Verizon stopped offering it about seven years ago and the going rate to take over an existing line that still has it is anywhere between $600 and $1,000. And you have to pass a credit check. And they don't allow upgrades on those lines so you have to pay for a new device out of pocket. And they're sneaky bastards and will try to trick you into making changes to your plan that will automatically drop the feature.
Actually, technical innovation was thriving before and after divestiture. Most of the excess "innovation" since then has been in marketing, packaging, and distribution. But you can go ahead and persist in a delusion with regard to something you have no personal knowledge of. What else is new?
Thanks for confirming you had a remarkably limited view of the innovation that went on in the labs, and therefore you're basically spewing nonsense from ignorance.
Keep believing your drivel.
After I left Ma bell I was blown away at ALL the new technology we DIDN'T have under Ma Bell.
When you live in a vacuum, you have NO idea what the rest of the world has out there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
