Florida VoIP Provider Files Net Neutrality Complaint With FCC

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Florida VoIP Provider Files Net Neutrality Complaint With FCC

Posted by timothy on Wednesday May 23, 2012 @05:02AM from the fungible-phonecalls-upset-rigid-rules dept.

New submitter himilean writes with this snippet from PC World: "A Florida VoIP carrier has filed a net neutrality complaint against a Georgia utility and broadband provider, after the utility accused the VoIP firm of theft of service for using its network to deliver voice service without paying for it. L2Networks filed the net neutrality complaint with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission Tuesday, the first formal complaint since the FCC passed net neutrality rules in December 2010. L2Networks' filing comes after the telecommunications manager for the City of Albany Water, Gas & Light Commission, a municipal utility in Georgia, filed a theft-of-service complaint with the Dougherty County Police Department in Albany earlier this year." Asks himilean: "So, would this not be considered the most abusive power of all within the legal system? Does this mean if I Skype my buddy and he's on Comcast, Comcast can file theft charges against me?"

13 of 70 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

I thought that IP Over Sewer was a just a joke... by jeffb+(2.718) · 2012-05-23 05:15 · Score: 2

...although, now that I think about it, you can get in trouble for flushing unapproved content.
4 step plan by gl4ss · 2012-05-23 05:19 · Score: 3, Insightful

1. start isp
2. let users access the internet
3. sue the internet
4. profit ???
how stupid is the isp here?

--
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
1. Re:4 step plan by KlomDark · 2012-05-23 08:12 · Score: 2
  
  I am absolutely sure I don't want municipal internet service. Maybe municipal fiber service as an empty last-mile pipe, that multiple ISPs can feed data over rather than just one incumbent provider.
  But that would introduce competition, which introduces innovation, which is bad for Fascists.
Complicated by vlm · 2012-05-23 05:19 · Score: 3, Insightful

This is a little complicated. From the article:

L2Networks purchases ethernet transport from Albany Water in order to serve its voice and Internet customers, Beahn said. The theft-of-service complaint stems from a single customer that uses L2Networks VoIP service over Albany Water's broadband service, he said. L2Networks also provides IP transit services to Albany Water, he said.
There's no simpler way to put it than the article quote above. What is obvious is there is a massive civil contract dispute going on, and its not entirely certain who is right and wrong. What is certain is this is merely an escalation. One side pays money to rent space and were locked out during an outage (who caused that outage?).
The real tragedy, beyond the net neutrality issue that is a minor part of this hyper dysfunctional relationship, is the rule of law is gone in the USA. If you have a civil contract between two citizens/corporations, nothing happens with law enforcement until after a judge makes a decision. But if one party in a civil contract is in any tangential way involved with a local government, then before a judge is involved, you can expect police harassment, criminal charges to be filed, etc.
This is what scares me away from municipal fiber / municipal wireless. In a civilized world it would work, but in the USA, if you are a municipal internet customer and open a trouble ticket, you could realistically expect the police to break down your door, stomp your puppy to death, and beat you, because thats just how law enforcement rolls in the land of the free.
I prefer getting access from my local cable monopoly... whats the absolute worst thing they can do to me as retaliation, disconnect my modem and tv? Intentionally screw up the paperwork and send my account to collections for service and hardware for at most a couple hundred bucks?
Hmm A couple hundred bucks and maybe an "accidental" disconnect, vs stomping family pets to death and beating people. I think I'll avoid municipal internet, thanks.

--
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
1. Re:Complicated by cpu6502 · 2012-05-23 05:51 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  >>> if one party in a civil contract is in any tangential way involved with a local government, then before a judge is involved, you can expect police harassment, criminal charges to be filed, etc.
  It's always been this way. Look-up the history of Eli Whitney when he was trying to defend his patent over the cotton engine. The local government usually defended the farmers or inventors who had hand-built copies of Eli's work, and interfered with the ongoing civil lawsuit.
  
  --
  My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
2. Re:Complicated by mcgrew · 2012-05-23 06:12 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  This is what scares me away from municipal fiber / municipal wireless. In a civilized world it would work, but in the USA, if you are a municipal internet customer and open a trouble ticket, you could realistically expect the police to break down your door, stomp your puppy to death, and beat you, because thats just how law enforcement rolls in the land of the free.
  Well, that depends on what city you live in and who is running things there. A decade back I called the Mayor (who actually talked to me!) complaining about the taste of the city water; I had to buy a filter and take water to work with me, city water was undrinkable. I was never harrassed orr threatened, and the water tasted very good just two days later.
  She retired and we got a new Mayor, and after my (now ex) wife was in an accident with a city truck that had run a red light, I got pulled over every damned day.
  But corporate monopolies can fuck you over, too. The city owns the power company, and we have (but not for long I fear, we got a new Mayor after Davlin committed suicide) the lowest rates and the best uptime in the state, and customer service is about as friendly as it could possibly be. Two F2 (nearly F3) tornados hit here on March 12, 2006 and completely destroyed the electrical infrastructure in a large swath of he town. The entire town was without power for several hours, and a week later everyone's electricity was back on. It took a month for anyone to get landline phone or cable service back. The city's scars from the tornado were still there two years later; it was a humungous mess.
  That June a weak F1 hit the St Louis area. A month later I visited a friend in Cahokia (in the path of the tornado, right across the river from St Louis) and he still had no power, but that was the only evidence that there had even been a tornado.
  So all in all, after my experiences, I'd pick municipal internet over corporate internet any day. They just raised our electric rates, and I expect the Mayor (the real head of the power company) to not be re-elected because of that.
  If the service is municipal owned and the rates are high and the service is shitty, the mayor loses his job. In a corporation, you have no pull whatever. What are you going to do, buy your electricity from another provider?
  Now, if this was Chicago instead of Springfield, I wouldn't want to contract for city-run ANYTHING.
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
3. Re:Complicated by operagost · 2012-05-23 06:38 · Score: 2
  
  If the service is municipal owned and the rates are high and the service is shitty, the mayor loses his job. In a corporation, you have no pull whatever. What are you going to do, buy your electricity from another provider?
  
  In PA, you can do just that. I have switched my electricity provider twice since the price caps were removed (thus making electricity choice relevant) and ended up with a cheaper rate each time. I will have to go back and check old bills because my "green" efforts have reduced my usage somewhat, but I believe my cost per kWh is lower now than before the deregulation... and that's with 100% green sources. Or course, the local monopoly has to remain in place to maintain the lines, so our rate for delivery is about the same.
  
  --
  
  Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
4. Re:Complicated by operagost · 2012-05-23 08:10 · Score: 2
  
  PA has had dereg since 1996, no caps since 2010 and so far, no brownouts or Enrons. CA had its brownouts while the caps were still in place, because bogus shutdowns caused limited supply and in turn increases in prices. The infrastructure bottleneck between north and south enabled this; it should have been fixed as part of the agreement. PA and CA both embarked on dereg at about the same time; PA's worked.
  
  --
  
  Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
Re:I thought that IP Over Sewer was a just a joke. by NatasRevol · 2012-05-23 05:21 · Score: 3, Funny

Everything unapproved is just...ummm......
Crap, I forget how to end this joke.

--
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
You a step by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-23 05:25 · Score: 2, Interesting

You missed an important step...
1. start isp
2. let users access the internet
3. charge users for accessing the internet (sustainable)
4. users get what service they pay for (NOT theft of services)
5. profits
It never ceases to amaze that people are allowed to get degrees without ever having to take economic sustainability 101.
Village epic fail once again LOL
The outrage! by TheSpoom · 2012-05-23 05:32 · Score: 2

Hey! Police! This startup is messing with my city-guaranteed monopoly! Take em down, officers!

--
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
Re:I thought that IP Over Sewer was a just a joke. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-23 05:51 · Score: 2, Informative

I would recommend that next time you try peeing into the toilet, not over it.
Re:Government nets, we want this? by Bengie · 2012-05-23 08:18 · Score: 3, Insightful

Around here, the government WANTS faster internet, but the Cable company keeps complaining when competition moves in or the state tries to lay its own. The people want it, the people are willing to pay a fair price for it, the Cable companies are not willing to do it.

Actually, this was more like the past decade. The people finally won and we're getting fiber state wide. State is laying the infrastructure and leasing and/or selling at whole sale, while also providing grants/loans for local ISPs to upgrade/expand their infrastructure.

fk you cable!