(11-21-2017 09:35 PM)fsquid Wrote:  

(11-21-2017 05:28 PM)Jugnaut Wrote:  

(11-21-2017 05:19 PM)fsquid Wrote:  

(11-21-2017 04:00 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  The internet is a utility.

It should be treated like one.

Utilities usually don't have any competition.

Do ISPs have any real competition? Not In my area for sure.

I have three choices here

I have one choice where I live, TWC/Spectrum. The only other option is not an option, ATT/DSL which runs at 5 Mbps. I use the internet for banking, work, entertainment, social media, most everything. ISP is a monopoly for many people. I don't want to be sold an internet speed and then find out the sites I want to use are speed restricted or blocked. Just like I wouldn't want to buy a book from store A but FedEx tells me they refuse to deliver it, but if I buy from store B they will hold it for a week and then deliver or I can use store C and get it in 2 days (because store C pays FedEx a kickback). I'm paying for the delivery, why should the carrier try to tell me where to shop?

What gripes me the most is it's a push to force people back into cable TV or pay a premium to use the internet without cable. For example, I use Hulu to watch 14 sports channels for $40/mo and pay $60/mo. for internet. If Hulu is restricted I can always go back to good old TWC/Spectrum and get the same channels in their $130/mo. package that goes up $70/mo. after one year. Cable/internet companies use public right of ways to provide service just like telephone, gas, electric, sewer and water, and should be held to the same standards. Any moron with 2 brain cells can see that this is an attempt to monopolize the internet for the big players by restricting access for the little guys and startups.

Here is what an FCC commissioner had to say:

Net neutrality is the right to go where you want and do what you want on the internet without your broadband provider getting in the way. It means your broadband provider can’t block websites, throttle services or charge you premiums if you want to reach certain online content.
Proponents of wiping out these rules think that by allowing broadband providers more control and the ability to charge for premium access, it will spur investment. This is a dubious proposition.
Wiping out net neutrality would have big consequences. Without it, your broadband provider could carve internet access into fast and slow lanes, favoring the traffic of online platforms that have made special payments and consigning all others to a bumpy road. Your provider would have the power to choose which voices online to amplify and which to censor. The move could affect everything online, including the connections we make and the communities we create.
Op-Ed I'm on the FCC. Please stop us from killing net neutrality

This isn't China or North Korea
DON'T SCREW UP THE INTERNET