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Small Cable Groups Seek To Break Net Neutrality
saikou writes "CNet's News.com has a story on the first cable companies openly going against Net Neutrality. As usual, request for equal treatment is labeled as 'special favors', and Google is used as an example of company that should pay for a fast connection to the end user." From the article: "'I think what the phone industry's saying and what we're saying is we've made an investment, and I don't think the government should be coming and telling us how we can work that infrastructure, simple as that,' Commisso said during a panel discussion about issues faced by companies like his, adding, 'Why don't they go and tell the oil companies what they should charge for their damn gas?'"
Yet Another Bad Analogy -
Oil Companies produce their product, deliver it to the customer and sell it.
ISPs take products from other companies and deliver it to the customer.
If I'm requesting more info from Google, Yahoo, etc, I should pay for a higher bandwidth line.
If Google, Yahoo, etc are transmitting more info, they should be paying for a higher bandwidth line (which they do already).
well, the gov't does tell oil companies where they can and can't drill, which influences the price of oil, so....
If you support Net Neutrality then you should be making your case locally. If your existing cable company's cable franchise is up for renewal or if AT&T or Verizon are applying to operate a cable TV franchise in your town then you should be asking them about Net Neutrality.
If they won't address the issue then you should press your local officials to reject their application.
If the local cable application goes away then we need to make Net Neutrality part of the discussion when state or national franchise applications take place.
If your town disagrees with a company's business practice then you shouldn't do business with them.
I'm pushing these issues locally. You can see how at: http://www.redbanktv.org/
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Well Mr A. Coward I think I know what fair means pretty well - a fair transaction is a mutually beneficial one. Right now cable companies get away with forcing to give up some of their rights - such as the right to watch their service on any device they want (thank you CableLabs for enabling them to do this). That is not a fair transaction.
Most of the world is using the DVB standard for their digital cable and HD, which is an open standard with standard hardware - facilitates full usage of your signal on your computer so it's very convient for homebrew PVR, has the program guide info encoded right into the signal, etc.
We use a CableLabs-encumbered system and CableLabs is doing everything it can to ensure that the consumer cannot watch the cable he's paying for on any device he wants, makes sure he cannot build home brew PVRs, etc.
The Cable Industry, just like the MPAA and RIAA only get away with the crap they get away with because: A) there is a power inquity (CI, MPAA, RIAA are all cartels), B) they pay off politicians to keep that power C) corporate america makes sure Joe Sixpack doesn't know better.
The rights of americans of all forms - civil rights, human rights, consumer rights - are all being destroyed wholesale. I cannot completely blame the republicans. The DMCA was clinton's doing, so was DOMA - I cannot say for certain whether the DMCA was just a lack of understanding what he was signing or not.
What happened to the land of the free? It was sold.
If you cannot keep politics out of your moderation remove yourself from the Mod Lottery.. NOW!
Of course this doesn't change the fact that they were also given easements and rights-of-way by the government.
Not site, cite.
There are no competing lines now because railways are (mostly) unprofitable now - with the explosion of "personal travel" (cars, bikes) and air travel, which is almost always cheaper than taking a train, the railroads are simply less profitable entites than they were when there was an explosion of competitors.
And let's talk about the competitors for a moment. Part of the reason that the ICC was formed in the first place is that every competitor found it necessary to use their own rails with their own shapes and sizes - meaning that another company's cars couldn't travel those tracks. Finding the results of this insanity unacceptable, railway measurements were standardized, and the physical changes were mostly accomplished by richer rail companies buying out the smaller ones and replacing their rails (since the land was already allocated to rails, it was like getting free land).
Railway history
We are the fire that lights our world.. and we are the fire that consumes it.
just a point of order:
there is little light passenger rail in the US.
freight rail is very very healthy. you cant ship everything by 18 wheeler, efficiently.
... hi bingo