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Cisco, Motorola, and Other Companies Take Aim At Net Neutrality Rules
angry tapir writes "FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced last month that he would seek to develop formal rules prohibiting Internet service providers from selectively blocking or slowing Web content and applications. However, 44 companies — including Cisco Systems, Alcatel-Lucent, Corning, Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia — have sent a letter to the FCC saying new regulations could hinder the development of the Internet. A group of 18 Republican US senators have also sent a letter to Genachowski raising concerns about net neutrality regulations."
I don't understand the position of the equipment makers in this objection
Selling traffic shaping solutions, presumably.
Yep that constitutes ALL corporations and ALL republicans.
http://news.cnet.com/2100-1036_3-6075472.html
But he isn't a trusted expert on anything, right?
My rights don't need management.
It'll be like AOL all over!
I suspect that it comes down to margins.
In the (almost entirely hypothetical, at least at the retail level) neutral and highly competitive internet access market, demand for bandwidth is very high, because bandwidth is cheap and useful for almost anything. In the hypothetical non-neutral oligopolistic internet access market, demand for bandwidth is lower, because bandwidth is more expensive, and less useful(since uses contrary to the ISP's interests are throttled or blocked). However, in the first instance, ISP margins are razor thin, and ISPs demand heavily commodified network gear, distinguished largely by price and simple packet passing capacity. Network equipment vendors will have higher demand; but for lower margin products. In the second instance, ISP margins are substantially higher, and sophistication of network gear(along with continuous upgrades for playing cat-and-mouse with blocked applications) becomes a major competitive edge, which keeps bottom-feeding commodity gear away.
The first scenario means greater bulk of network hardware sales; but mostly bottom-feeding commodity packet passers to ISPs who are pinching their pennies until they bleed. The second scenario means selling less bulk switching capacity; but a lot more "integrated strategic traffic management solutions" and whatnot, to ISPs with real money.
You the customer and user shapes your traffic not your outside ISP. At least I hope your ISP doesn't. Without competition and net neutrality type regulations your ISP can do whatever it wants. Don't like it? Too bad, the only choice you have is that provider or no provider.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
A group of 18 Republican US senators have also sent a letter to Genachowski raising concerns about net neutrality regulations.
That pretty much guarantees it's good for the public.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
Yeah, like the DMCA didn't do the same thing? As for freedom, wasn't it your boy Obama who voted for the FISA? I guess freedom is only valued in your own terms. Get real.
If you honestly don't believe that both of the big parties don't suck on the teat of corporations than you're nothing but another clueless zombie. If you really value freedom above party lines and corporate interests you'd drop the party rhetoric and vote for people instead. I know these aren't going to have though.
Econ nitpick: SUPPLY of bandwidth is restricted because, as you say, margins are higher and expanding infrastructure costs money.
Quantity of bandwidth demanded would be higher at a lower price point, but demand for bandwidth is the same in both cases.
Because supply of bandwidth is constricted, costlier gear is needed for packet shaping, QoS and the like. This is another misallocation of resources - wasting silicon on expensive products to manage scarce bandwidth rather than simply adding more bandwidth.
I agree with the other 99% of your analysis.
DATABASE WOW WOW
that ship already sailed with medicare/medicaid.
the "free market" has failed dismally in the health care and health insurance field.
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
Wow! Take a deep breath. The OP was using sarcasm to make his point. Although I can understand your reaction, because of the flood of corporate BS, err... doublespeak, we have been subjected to for years.
Your points are valid, and we're not all dupes of the corporations and their bribed congress critters.
Perhaps it's time to press for a Bill of Responsibilities to accompany the Bill of Rights. Things like:
When the pursuit of profit conflicts with the good of the country, it will be considered treason.
I have other thoughts along this line, but I think this is enough to illustrate what I mean and what we the people need.
Heisenberg may have been here.
Rwanda (which effectively has no government) would be a fscking paradise. Yet, despite having no evil gubbmint holding down the people, there's hardly a better example of hell on Earth.
Rwanda has a relatively stable and democratically elected government.
You're probably thinking Somalia.
How much longer should I go on? Talking like gubbmint is somehow universally bad is just idiot talk. Sure, it's got it's problems, but the idea that it's somehow the definition of evil is... wrong!
Get lost, and come back when you have something intelligent to say!
Wow, that's one heck of a tirade. Judging from your reaction alone my OP deserves a troll mod or 2, inadvertently as it my have been.
And yes, I was taking a stab at the libertards around here. Tongue in cheek and all that. And, as much as I hate to do this...the urge is too strong to resist. Whooooooosh!
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
Dude jesus christ I'm with you here but you make yourself look like a douchebag by intentionally misspelling government. Whatever point you're trying to make by doing that is lost on the fact that you come across as an idiot.
I take it you're ignoring that little dust-up between the Hutus and Tutsis that got about a million people killed?
I am officially gone from
Which in this context undermines the argument, because like most genocides, the perpetrators abused the power of government.
I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
WHOOSH
Slashdot provides a sig area for your sig.