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Verizon's Plan To Turn the Web Into Pay-Per-View
snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Bill Snyder writes of Verizon's diabolical plan to to charge websites for carrying their packets — a strategy that, if it wins out, will be the end of the Internet as we know it. 'Think of all the things that tick you off about cable TV. Along with brainless programming and crummy customer service, the very worst aspect of it is forced bundling. ... Now, imagine that the Internet worked that way. You'd hate it, of course. But that's the direction that Verizon, with the support of many wired and wireless carriers, would like to push the Web. That's not hypothetical. The country's No. 1 carrier is fighting in court to end the Federal Communications Commission's policy of Net neutrality, a move that would open the gates to a whole new — and wholly bad — economic model on the Web.'"
Simple. Be willing to sacrifice your connection. We lived before the Internet existed, we can live without it now.
Sure, there were hundreds of ISPs, but that's not real competition, because to use any of those ISPs, you were forced to purchase service from the local telco monopoly. That's not competition at all.
These days, because there's no real way for hundreds of ISPs to install physical infrastructure to your house/apt, and because dial-up speeds are impossible to use with modern internet applications, the telco and cable monopolies have become the ISPs as well.
The simple fact is that there's no way to have anything resembling a free market with ISPs, and there never has been. Last-mile connections are a huge capital expense. The only way to do it is to have a monopoly or duopoly, and have government regulation to keep these companies in line. Or have the government provide ISP service directly, as has been done in several small cities already.
Pretty much sums it up: http://i.imgur.com/5RrWm.png
"This would be funny if weren't so likely to be taken seriously by the regulatory agencies which SHOULD currently be waterboarding Verizon's CEO for even suggesting this. With boiling hot oil."
It ISN'T being taken seriously by the regulatory authorities. That's why there is a lawsuit. The regulatory authorities (FCC) realize full well that this would not be in the public interest, even if it were workable.
Verizon is trying to fight their regulatory authority in court. That's what it's all about. Verizon doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of succeeding, but they are trying anyway.
Hah, hah, that's a good one. No. Verizon is buying the part of Verizon Wireless that Vodaphone currently owns. Vodaphone is not being bought out, or merged. If anything, it is a demerger.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!