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Comcast Hints At Plan For Paid Fast Lanes After Net Neutrality Repeal (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: For years, Comcast has been promising that it won't violate the principles of net neutrality, regardless of whether the government imposes any net neutrality rules. That meant that Comcast wouldn't block or throttle lawful Internet traffic and that it wouldn't create fast lanes in order to collect tolls from Web companies that want priority access over the Comcast network. This was one of the ways in which Comcast argued that the Federal Communications Commission should not reclassify broadband providers as common carriers, a designation that forces ISPs to treat customers fairly in other ways. The Title II common carrier classification that makes net neutrality rules enforceable isn't necessary because ISPs won't violate net neutrality principles anyway, Comcast and other ISPs have claimed.
But with Republican Ajit Pai now in charge at the Federal Communications Commission, Comcast's stance has changed. While the company still says it won't block or throttle Internet content, it has dropped its promise about not instituting paid prioritization. Instead, Comcast now vaguely says that it won't "discriminate against lawful content" or impose "anti-competitive paid prioritization." The change in wording suggests that Comcast may offer paid fast lanes to websites or other online services, such as video streaming providers, after Pai's FCC eliminates the net neutrality rules next month.
But with Republican Ajit Pai now in charge at the Federal Communications Commission, Comcast's stance has changed. While the company still says it won't block or throttle Internet content, it has dropped its promise about not instituting paid prioritization. Instead, Comcast now vaguely says that it won't "discriminate against lawful content" or impose "anti-competitive paid prioritization." The change in wording suggests that Comcast may offer paid fast lanes to websites or other online services, such as video streaming providers, after Pai's FCC eliminates the net neutrality rules next month.
Lots of companies offer faster services, fast lanes does not equate to throttled or blocked traffic. With the FTC taking over, it deals with consumer protections better than the FCC. FCC only cares about nipples on tv and frequencies.
The real issue is a monopoly of ISP's and thats not a net neutrality issue, it's an access issue. With LTE 5 and ViaSat 2 that just went up, and Viasat 3 going up in 2019, Facebook & Google offering internet access, within 5 years, Intenet access will be even more accessible and global. FCC is working on guidelines to communities to allow new community ISPs and new companies to run services to the pole. The FCC deregulating ISP's so smaller ISP's dont have the same regulations as big carriers and can now evenly compete again. The LEC issues really screwed the mom/pop ISP's that exploded DSL back before the carriers gobbled them up.
All I see is so much hyperbole and chicken little "sky is falling" without any facts to back them up. Its all "What if" scenarios, for a bill that's only been in place for 2 years and didn't fix the monopoly issue.
Sounds like you're off your meds. Do you have a phone number we can call so a competent adult can come get you and take you to a safe place?
Eh, not really. Even the government is not stupid enough to drop nukes on its own people. If they did that, there would be no country left to govern.
Um, that might have been true at one time. In Trump's America (tm) I wouldn't be too sure. And if he were to nuke a city, his Christian worshipers will cream themselves with delight--just look at what they say, and think, about the rest of us. After all, they've elected one accused pedophile to the presidency, and are doing their best to elect another to the senate, because they believe such vile people are still better than the best of the rest of us. I don't think dropping a nuke on a "libtard" city would bother them too much, if at all. Hell, they probably wouldn't even know enough to be concerned about being downwind from such an event...and even if they did, they'd be too busy celebrating our annihilation to care.
Yes, this is what our Christian "neighbors" have become.