Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

On Entangling and Testing Net Neutrality

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the weighty-words dept.

P3titPrince writes "In an NYT op-ed today, Timothy B. Lee argues that legislation specifically guaranteeing Net Neutrality would in fact be less effective than just allowing the status quo." From the article: "It's tempting to believe that government regulation of the Internet would be more consumer-friendly; history and economics suggest otherwise. The reason is simple: a regulated industry has a far larger stake in regulatory decisions than any other group in society. As a result, regulated companies spend lavishly on lobbyists and lawyers and, over time, turn the regulatory process to their advantage. Economists have dubbed this process 'regulatory capture,' and they can point to plenty of examples. The airline industry was a cozy cartel before being deregulated in the 1970's. Today, government regulation of cable television is the primary obstacle to competition." Relatedly, winnabago writes "Computerworld reports on a potential method for testing a net connection for neutrality. Somewhat similar to Traceroute, the software uses spoof packets that appear to be from a potentially throttled source and compares the transmission time to that of neutral traffic."

4 of 185 comments (clear)

  1. Easy... by GillBates0 · · Score: 5, Funny
    Google is buying all the fiber because of it's well known benefits. Fiber absorbs several times their weight in water, resulting in softer, bulkier stools, which makes it easier for traffic to pass through the colon.

    Anybody who's experiencing problems due to clogged Tubes is well-advised to deploy as much Fiber as possible.

    --
    An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
    1. Re:Easy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Dear sir,

      You win at the Internet.

  2. Re:NN? by Trigun · · Score: 2, Funny

    Google should champion the .web TLD, and create google.web
    Rebuild the net the way they think that it should be. Tie in all services to their brand new .web. Create a gmail address, get a site, a gbuy account, adsense tied to the site, a marker on google maps, the works! Think of the datamining that they could do then!

    Of course, the last time I told them that, they never answered me. Maybe I shouldn't have sworn so much in the email. Telling them to 'fuckin' bury Microsoft' probably didn't add to my ideas credibility.

  3. Just my view by Anon-Admin · · Score: 3, Funny


    If Microsoft is the answer to the problem, you did not understand the problem!

    %s/Microsoft/The Goverment/g