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FCC Chair: It's Ok For ISPs To Discriminate Traffic

Posted by Soulskill on from the pay-per-bit dept.

sl4shd0rk writes "Remember when the ex-cable lobbyist Tom Wheeler was appointed to the FCC chair back in May of 2013? Turns out he's currently gunning for Internet Service Providers to be able to 'favor some traffic over other traffic.' It would set a dangerous precedent, considering the Open Internet Order in 2010 forbade such action if it fell under unreasonable discrimination. The bendy interpretation of the 2010 order is apparently aimed somewhat at Netflix, as Wheeler stated: 'Netflix might say, "I'll pay in order to make sure that my subscriber might receive the best possible transmission of this movie."'"

8 of 365 comments (clear)

  1. News to me by paiute · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here I thought the outrageous check I write to Comcast every month was supposed to pay for them to pipe me the best possible signal from whatever website I choose. Silly me.

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    1. Re:News to me by reve_etrange · · Score: 3, Informative

      Discrimination and double-charging are two separate issues. We know that wireless carriers (and off-and-on, wired ones) have been discriminating for years. So far they have not been double-charging.

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    2. Re:News to me by ZombieBraintrust · · Score: 4, Informative

      Cable companies are goverment enforced monopolies in most of the country and consumers don't have a market to choose from. They can choose the cable monopoly or the phone monopoly for thier internet.

  2. Let's not just give in by Traze · · Score: 4, Informative

    Whitehouse.gov Sign the petition, and at least get your voice out there.

    Who know's? It might not fall on deaf ears.

  3. Hopey Changey by EmagGeek · · Score: 5, Informative

            "I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over. I have done more than any other candidate in this race to take on lobbyists â" and won. They have not funded my campaign, they will not run my White House, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I am president."

            -- Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA
            November 10, 2007

  4. Re:What Internet? by jxander · · Score: 5, Informative

    Netflix (being called out by name in this instance) has offered a decentralization solution. They've offered to install storage nodes to hold the majority of their library within Comcast's network and minimize traffic... but comcast said NO, as it would compete with their own digital movie delivery methods.

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  5. But there is no fast lane by 3count · · Score: 3, Informative

    This fast lane/slow lane analogy makes this sound more reasonable than it is. Netflix, or anyone else, can't pay to have their traffic go faster. They can only pay to have someone else's traffic go slower. ISPs are talking about taking bids to selectively slow traffic. How, exactly, is this different from a denial of service attack?

  6. Re:I like my connection to discriminate by Shatrat · · Score: 3, Informative

    The fix for that is peering and QOS, not double billing. Double billing is just a money grab.

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