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Motherboard and VICE Are Building a Community Internet Network (vice.com)

In order to preserve net neutrality and the free and open internet, we must end our reliance on monopolistic corporations and build something fundamentally different: internet infrastructure that is locally owned and operated and is dedicated to serving the people who connect to it, writes Jason Koebler, editor-in-chief of Vice's Motherboard news outlet. He writes: The good news is a better internet infrastructure is possible: Small communities, nonprofits, and startup companies around the United States have built networks that rival those built by big companies. Because these networks are built to serve their communities rather than their owners, they are privacy-focused and respect net neutrality ideals. These networks are proofs-of-concept around the country that a better internet is possible. This week, Motherboard and VICE Media are committing to be part of the change we'd like to see. We will build a community network based at our Brooklyn headquarters that will provide internet connections for our neighborhood. We will also connect to the broader NYC Mesh network in order to strengthen a community network that has already decided the status quo isn't good enough. We are in the very early stages of this process and have begun considering dark fiber to light up, hardware to use, and organizations to work with, support, and learn from. To be clear and to answer a few questions I've gotten: This network will be connected to the real internet and will be backed by fiber from an internet exchange. It will not rely on a traditional ISP.

142 comments

  1. Re:1stttttt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps he's wondering why somebody would troll a man, before throwing him out of an plane?

  2. Nice Contradiction That Shows Ignorance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    " This network will be connected to the real internet and will be backed by fiber from an internet exchange. It will not rely on a traditional ISP."

    Good luck building a backbone that doesn't connect to a "traditional ISP." ISP doesn't mean Comcast only.

    1. Re:Nice Contradiction That Shows Ignorance by jonwil · · Score: 5, Informative

      I think what they are saying is that they are going to connect to the internet via the kind of provider that just sells you a fat pipe to the internet and doesn't care what you do with it unless what you are doing is harmful to their network or unless they are required to care by legislation, regulations or a court of law. The kind of provider that doesn't have a pay TV network (cable, fiber or otherwise) to protect.

    2. Re: Nice Contradiction That Shows Ignorance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's called a leased point to point circuit, and all those evil scary ISP's already sell those services. That's how all those little companies the article talks about haul their data around.

      The article is crap, written by people who don't know shit about networking.

      If you're going to belly up to the standard all-you-can-eat buffet that most people call internet service, it's going to be shit. That's why it's cheap compared to a real circuit with an SLA.

    3. Re: Nice Contradiction That Shows Ignorance by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

      It's called a leased point to point circuit, and all those evil scary ISP's already sell those services. That's how all those little companies the article talks about haul their data around.

      Yes, this is true, but this way a bunch of people only have to buy one big fat connection with one big fat wallet, which will carry some serious clout when negotiating the price. This way the buyer prevails, or at least there is a balance of power. "Socialism" from the bottom up.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    4. Re:Nice Contradiction That Shows Ignorance by _Sharp'r_ · · Score: 1

      Basically what this article is saying is that Motherboard and Vice have decided to start an ISP to compete with other ISPs.

      So, exactly what anyone in favor of repealing the FCC rules would have suggested they do and other than the attempt at publicity for their ISP using political buzzwords, not something which relates in any way to FCC Title II regulations.

      The worst part is the authors of the article don't even seem to realize what an ISP actually is and that what they're doing is creating one. That doesn't bode well for their ability to run one long-term.

      --
      The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
    5. Re:Nice Contradiction That Shows Ignorance by suutar · · Score: 2

      since they're naming the guide they're writing "Motherboard Guide to Building an ISP" i think they realize it better than you think.

    6. Re: Nice Contradiction That Shows Ignorance by eric_harris_76 · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure it's technically socialism, if it's voluntary. Depends on the definition chosen, and I don't argue definitions.

      But it's definitely libertarianism.

      There's room for (voluntary) socialism in a libertarian society. Or even a partially libertarian society that allows such libertarian institutions.

      Allows them so far, anyway.

      --
      There's no time like the present. Well, the past used to be.
    7. Re: Nice Contradiction That Shows Ignorance by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Is a government of the majority "voluntary"?

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    8. Re: Nice Contradiction That Shows Ignorance by eric_harris_76 · · Score: 1

      No.

      If you and two muggers vote on who gets your wallet, majority rules. But the transfer of the wallet is hardly voluntary, unless these are the kind of muggers who take "no" for an answer.

      --
      There's no time like the present. Well, the past used to be.
  3. Obligatory by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 0

    Motherboard and VICE Are Building a Community Internet Network

    With Blackjack, and hookers!

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
    1. Re:Obligatory by slipped_bit · · Score: 1

      Forget the blackjack!

  4. PR Stunt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sounds like a whole load of PR..

    "We are in the very early stages of this process and have begun considering dark fiber to light up.."

    Dark fiber is now unused fiber?

    1. Re:PR Stunt by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 3, Informative
      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    2. Re: PR Stunt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just because a fiber is currently dark doesn't mean it isn't a part of a redundant architecture where the dark fiber(s) will light up if the primary fiber fails. This article is awful.

    3. Re: PR Stunt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are just a pedant, and not particularly good at it.

  5. The Revolution will not be Televised by puddingebola · · Score: 3, Funny

    It will be provided over a community run network.

    1. Re:The Revolution will not be Televised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The revolution has started now that we have a leader in the US who is for the people and not for the government.

    2. Re: The Revolution will not be Televised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      As long as those people have the surname "Trump".

    3. Re: The Revolution will not be Televised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A name change is both inexpensive and optional.

      The names to look out for are the political dynasty names. Kennedy, Bush, Clinton.

      One of the best things Trump has accomplished, in part even before his election, is kill off the Bush and Clinton dynasties.

    4. Re:The Revolution will not be Televised by asackett · · Score: 1

      Exactly. The sparsely populated, rural county in which I live is served by community broadband -- fiber up to 1Gb/s in town, fixed wireless up to some 100's of Mb/s in the rural areas. The network is content neutral by default because we're not about to retain anyone in office who attempts to screw with our data.

      --

      Warning: This signature may offend some viewers.

  6. Already done. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Richard Hendrix already did this at Pied Piper. Old news.

  7. A noble aspiration, but... by hyades1 · · Score: 0, Troll

    They should have kept their mouths shut until they had everything ready to go and the nastiest pack of legal attack dogs money can buy hired and hungry for blood.

    Ajit Pai and his masters will want to strangle this baby in its cradle.

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    1. Re:A noble aspiration, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Ajit Pai and his masters will want to strangle this baby in its cradle.

      Google fiber didn't make headway into many markets with a massive cash backing. This is a lost cause to start. Are you under the delusion that Ajit is afraid of anything today?

    2. Re:A noble aspiration, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Didn't Vice get bought by Time magazine? And Time is being bought by Koch Bros? Seems unlikely that this will happen.

    3. Re:A noble aspiration, but... by i286NiNJA · · Score: 1

      Except this is community based. So when you live downtown and a free or near cost wifi opens up because someone was nice, there really won't be much the ISPs can do about it. They could try to deny connections to the people but if the AP goes to a VPN and they run a an internal tor routing node on the connection it would be pretty hard to figure out who is running these things for awhile.

      Once people start to use them and like them, it'll be hard to put that genie back in the bottle. Remember back when ISPs wanted you to pay extra for each computer you had on the internet? Lol.

    4. Re:A noble aspiration, but... by Miles_O'Toole · · Score: 1

      I truly hope you're right, my friend. I suspect, though, that the laws written to kill this off will be more akin to those state laws crafted to keep Tesla out of the market, or drug laws allowing the police incredibly wide discretion to stomp on Americans' freedom in the name of "save the children and kittens".

      There's rarely been a time when I wanted so much to be wrong.

      --
      Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
    5. Re:A noble aspiration, but... by i286NiNJA · · Score: 1

      There's rarely been a time when I wanted so much to be wrong.

      Well remember this when some kook in your city starts talking about public or shared wifi. Volunteer.

  8. Peering? by jeffclay · · Score: 5, Informative

    In all of the blogs, ./ stories and articles that I've read regarding Net Neutrality, I have yet to hear anyone speak about network peering. Here's a scenario: Your ISP is BigCo-A, and the server you want to access is using BigCo-C. BigCo-A and BigCo-C are not directly connected but use BigCo-B as a common peer (to bridge the network gaps). If BigCo-A and BigCo-C decide not to throttle anything, but BigCo-B does, then all that traffic will be throttled regardless of who your ISP is or the ISP of the server host.

    1. Re:Peering? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a non-issue. You can start with all paid transit. It's $1500/10Gbps/month of dedicated bandwidth through Hurricane Electric at major internet exchanges. If you only have 1000 participants, that's $1.5 each per month for a guaranteed 10Mbps, but they won't all use it at the same time, so you can expect at least 100Mbps per user without problems.

    2. Re:Peering? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's because the streaming tech companies have been spreading FUD and redefined NN to be all about end users when it is really about peering between the ISPs themselves.

    3. Re:Peering? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Money talks shit walks.

    4. Re:Peering? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      That's a lot of bull. All the trunk lines are paid for through their leasing contracts. Every connection is paid for. They want to double dip and regulate content.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    5. Re:Peering? by jeffclay · · Score: 1

      all of the connections are already paid for. what is to keep them from double dipping on the peer connections?

    6. Re:Peering? by xvan · · Score: 1

      An the infrastructure to back-haul those 10Gbps to the edge nodes? Who pays for installing and maintaining it?

    7. Re:Peering? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

      At $1.50 per month you can lock me to 10Mbps and I'll be happy about it.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    8. Re: Peering? by kenh · · Score: 1

      That's great, but how will people feel about going to Hurricane Electric's datacenter to use their $1.50/month 'unlimited' internet service?

      Oh, I see, you are going to use magical infrastructure that never fails and has no acquisition costs or on-going maintenance costs, and will be delivered to each of your customers in a manner that doesn't limit their access speed or use any competing provider's infrastructure.

      This is a brilliant idea, I can't imagine anything that might impact your well thought-out plan to up-end the internet marketplace. /sarcasm

      --
      Ken
    9. Re:Peering? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The participants will pay for that, or do the work. You're not going to sell 10Mbps or more for a dollar fifty. That's just the "internet" part, you know, the part that Comcast says will ruin them if Netflix doesn't pay to offset the costs.

    10. Re:Peering? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

      In fact, do exactly that. Charge twice the cost to allow for profits and to run the company, so:
      5Mbps for $1.50 per month.
      10Mbps for $3.00 per month.
      50Mbps for $15.00 per month.

      At those prices, EVERYONE will want to be connected and everyone will be able to afford it, even the poor who are using a computer they got for free at the recycling center.

      Heck, even at four times the cost, it's still cheaper than most places. Nobody offers 5Mbps for $3.00 per month. And 5Mbps is more than enough to connect the dirt poor. Even the homeless could probably afford that.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    11. Re: Peering? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They'll build a network. That network needs to be connected to the internet in order to be useful to most people. I responded to a comment questioning the advantage of building a new network if you can't secure an unthrottled internet connection. You can. At $1500/10Gbps/month from Hurricane Electric. That's dedicated bandwidth. You can use that 24/7 at full speed up and down. You still need your own access network, but with $1.50 down for "internet", there's plenty left to build that network. They shouldn't have a problem finding an way to connect to a HE PoP from Brooklyn either. 10GigE is affordable hardware.

    12. Re:Peering? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's the cost of transit. You still need to build a network to get the data to and from the Internet exchange point and to and from the subscribers. The point is, getting an unthrottled internet uplink is a non-issue. You pay for that. It's cheap.

    13. Re:Peering? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Make your subscribers use Wi-Max routers and do a mesh link between everyone, connect only a few users directly via cable?

      Does it make sense or was that buzzword bingo?

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    14. Re: Peering? by kenh · · Score: 1

      I can't see it.

      So I go to Hurricane Electric, hand them $1,500/month, and they give me (effectively) a Cat6 connection that provides me with an unfiltered, unthrottled, uncensored 10 Gb/sec connection. Great.

      How do I get that out of HE's datacenter? Am I laying/renting a fiber connection from HE to the offices of Motherboard Vice? That costs something, but we'll consider that a manageable cost.

      Now, I go up on the roof, and I install some Ubiquiti sector antennas, a whole bunch of them, three sectors per non-overlapping WiFi channel. Great. If we stick with 2.4 GHz that means three sets of three sector antennas, one 3 sector set for channels 1, 6, and 11. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to calculate the equipment needed to similarly saturate the 5 GHz WiFi band,

      So, now I've got a crusher WiFi signal blasting out on all usable 2.4 GHz WiFi channels - think that's gonna cause interference problems with other users? Won't they be "monopolizing" the public WiFi channels?

      So anyway, we throw these sector antennas up on the roof of the building, and now our wonderful internet service only takes care of those users that happen to live in a certain, limited, geographic region - the area directly surrounding the Motherboard Vice HQ, users outside the direct link will be forced to access our connection via mesh functionality, so now we've created two service level tiers - one that gets premium, direct connections to our sector antennas, and those low-grade users that have their traffic filter through various mesh nodes to reach our sector antennas. So we are now discriminating between our customers, based on their location.

      And why go through this effort? Because you're afraid ISPs will throttle certain websites and promote the traffic of other websites, in an effort to maximize their profits. Fine, but your response has the vast majority of your user community, those not enjoying premium, direct connections to your central location, suffering at mesh node speeds for ALL traffic, and even premium users will have their connections degrade as mesh network traffic flows through their router en route to the central location - all of this congestion on the WiFi channels and their limited bandwidth will cause you to have effectively throttled all customer traffic equally.

      So, let's recap - you are "monopolizing" the public WiFi channels, discriminating between our customers, based on their location, and effectively throttled all customer traffic equally.

      Remind me, what problems are you trying to solve?

      --
      Ken
    15. Re:Peering? by mi · · Score: 0

      It's a non-issue. You can start with all paid transit. It's $1500/10Gbps/month of dedicated bandwidth through Hurricane Electric at major internet exchanges.

      Or you nationalize Hurricane Electric and the rest of the Internet infrastructure and watch the costs go up to and subsidies become necessary.

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    16. Re: Peering? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem they're trying to solve is that there is a lack of competition for last mile access networks. Without legally mandated network neutrality, competition is the only way to ensure that the internet doesn't deteriorate into a new version of cable TV.

      The kind of network link that they can use depends on the environment they're in. That's the difference between them and a big ISP like Google. They can mix and match network technologies, because they're small. They will certainly need to lease some dark fiber or at least some colors on someone else's DWDM link, not just to get out of the internet exchange or HE PoP, but also to distribute the 10Gbps to "points of presence" of their own, in order to split it out into several slower links that can be more easily handled by community networks and to spread the network far enough to reach at least a couple hundred participants. From there on it's probably a matter of growing networks from the ground up: Develop a concept for a block-wide network that doesn't need to use public right of way and let city blocks implement that concept. Then use wireless point to point links to connect these LANs to the PoPs. Wireless point to point links use the spectrum efficiently because the high gain antennas only send toward the receiving antenna and the receiver only listens to signals coming from the direction of the transmitting antenna. The 5GHz band also has more channels to offer than 2.4GHz. If they are in a very crowded EM environment or need to cover a lot of distance, they can use free space optical links, but those are a bit costly. Anyway, they will probably have to make do without putting anything into public ground by themselves. They'll have to rent fiber if they need to cross public ground. For everything else, it has to be either private ground and/or wireless links.

    17. Re:Peering? by kenh · · Score: 1

      As I recall, web services like google, Netflix, and akimai, and others will drop redundant mirror servers near ISPs regional connection point to provide improved access to their services, preventing a lot of streaming traffic from travelling across the backbone of the internet. That's a good thing.

      If this group buys a raw data connection from, say, Hurricane Electric, they will not have access to a local caching server for Netflix, so all Netflix traffic for this "unthrottled" internet will have to travel from where? The nearest non-collocated Netflix server? won't that hurt performance over a co-located caching server?

      --
      Ken
    18. Re:Peering? by kenh · · Score: 1

      In theory, yes, but when everyone comes home after work and turns on Netflix or any other HD streaming service, performance will suffer - significantly.

      Got a cost on these Wi-Max routers you expect/propose everyone buy?

      --
      Ken
    19. Re:Peering? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      No idea for the cost of those Wi-Max routers. Maybe other ideas would be better. Maybe the wires only run the streets and you connect the subscribers via Wi-Fi or Wi-Max.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    20. Re:Peering? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Depending on their upstream location, they can peer with Netflix (Alphabet, Akamai, etc.) directly if they satisfy the requirements that Netflix (Alphabet, Akamai, etc.) puts forward in its peering policy. If they can't, they can just get that data through their transit provider, who will get it from those content providers at a nearby internet exchange. In New York, it's probably going to be delivered from a router in the same exchange, through a HE router, for example, and out to the community network's router right away. As long as they buy enough transit, there won't be any performance issues.

    21. Re:Peering? by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      No it isn't. Netflix content usually doesn't go through multiple ISPs. Usually the netflix servers are colocated with the ISP equipment.

    22. Re:Peering? by i286NiNJA · · Score: 1

      Not when the streaming service is p2p from other people on your local mesh. I can even see netflix offering edge caches, either for a little cash by the node operator or for free just as a big fuck you

    23. Re: Peering? by i286NiNJA · · Score: 2

      Actually community dialup radius networks used to be somewhat common. They were ran by mixtures of nerds, schools, and other community organizations. Often they'd sell radius access to commercial ISPs for their ppp dialup.
      It's already happened before my friend.

      How can you not know this with a 4 digit ID?

    24. Re:Peering? by i286NiNJA · · Score: 1

      Who says they won't have access to a local cache? Who says there won't be p2p caching soon after all of this catches on. Hell we can have a whole p2p web and you might just pay your local mesh provider for seeding.

      Not that different from the internet when it didn't suck actually.

    25. Re:Peering? by i286NiNJA · · Score: 1

      The peering agreements are fine. You pay for a pipe you get that much bandwith and maybe there is a data cap. If your ISP can't pay for it's network connection when it owns a portion of the backbone itself and still charges customers 100/mo for internet.

      Well I guess they need to go out of business.

    26. Re:Peering? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Well, hopefully we'll use the law to prevent that kind of crap, because it is theft.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    27. Re: Peering? by kenh · · Score: 1

      The problem they're trying to solve is that there is a lack of competition for last mile access networks. Without legally mandated network neutrality, competition is the only way to ensure that the internet doesn't deteriorate into a new version of cable TV.

      No, the last mile isn't the issue - it's the carriers that bring the data up to the last mile.

      --
      Ken
    28. Re:Peering? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Normally a condition and the consequence go in the same sentence. Not in separate paragraphs, you fucktard.

    29. Re:Peering? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Will that work when everything is https or otherwise encrypted?

  9. Motherboard/Vice are shills by Glock9mm · · Score: 0

    Motherboard and VICE are among the biggest lib-sponsored shill organizations out there. This is political grand standing and attempt to remain relevant in a post-Obama era where people are waking up faster than the left can put them back to sleep. Also, these guys ripped many of their articles and content offline as soon as others were called out for fake news... similar to Hillary's email treatment.

    1. Re: Motherboard/Vice are shills by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you for pointing out Vice are liberal shills, perfect evidence that they are intelligent entities who will do what's best for the people. Now drop your pants and bend over citizen, Comcast is ready for another shafting.

    2. Re: Motherboard/Vice are shills by Glock9mm · · Score: 1

      Eliminating regulations + Free market + Existing and FutureTechnologies will continue to assure good internet service over time because that's what the public wants and that is what they will pay for. Assuming that Net Neutrality provides good internet is insane. Go read up on Comcast's java injections into your web sessions - they did this during net neutrality. Saying Vice is intelligent is laughable. I've seen many of their attempts at journalism and their conjecture is as idiotic as Don Lemon frolicking with Wolf Blitzer in a pile of Clinton cash. That reminds me... I need to get back to calculating my upcoming tax rebates and stock gains. What a great time to be alive.

    3. Re: Motherboard/Vice are shills by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      That reminds me... I need to get back to calculating my upcoming tax rebates

      You understand that there are no "tax rebates" in the GOP tax bill, don't you?

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    4. Re:Motherboard/Vice are shills by i286NiNJA · · Score: 1

      Once these sorts of networks let you get talk radio over IP nearly for free will you admit liberals are better a solid 70% of the time?

    5. Re: Motherboard/Vice are shills by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He knows that, but that doesn't stop him from swallowing the others guys cock while ajit and trump take turns ass raping him.

      "Thank you, may I have another"

    6. Re: Motherboard/Vice are shills by Glock9mm · · Score: 1

      Semantics.

    7. Re: Motherboard/Vice are shills by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Semantics.

      It's more than semantics. There are nothing even resembling tax rebates in the GOP tax bill.

      So if you're "calculating your upcoming tax rebates", I can help you out. Just put a big "0" on the line.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  10. Google failed trying to do this by sinij · · Score: 1

    ISP are really entrenched, even Google with all of its unlit fiber failed to get last mile. These clowns have no chance.

    1. Re:Google failed trying to do this by Glock9mm · · Score: 1

      Heavy emphasis on "clowns"

    2. Re:Google failed trying to do this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Coops have a chance because they don't need public right of way. If you come together with a lot of neighbors, you can use all private connections and jump the gaps with wireless point to point links. You can easily and reliably achieve several hundred megabits per link with cheap COTS hardware. A big ISP would not do it this way because it would be a nightmare to manage. It is feasible for a grass-roots network.

    3. Re:Google failed trying to do this by sinij · · Score: 1

      "you can use all private connections and jump the gaps with wireless point to point links."
      and
      "easily and reliably achieve several hundred megabits per link"
      I don't think we would agree on definitions of easily or reliably.

    4. Re:Google failed trying to do this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's really easy nowadays. There are products you can buy for $200 a pair that come ready with integrated high-gain antenna in an outdoor enclosure, powered via Ethernet, injector included, and have software that guides you through the setup process, which consists of plugging in an Ethernet cable and roughly pointing the things at each other. There's an app for that too.

      ISPs want you to believe that networking is hard, but all that's hard about it is when it touches public ground. Even medium haul fiber connections are cheap stuff that you can order off Amazon, except for the part where you have to secure the rights to put the fiber into public ground (or on utility poles, like in a third world country).

    5. Re:Google failed trying to do this by kenh · · Score: 2

      So your plan is to litter the community with consumer-grade hardware?

      And where will these backbone nodes be installed, on rooftops? You do know that landlords charge rent for installing equipment on their buildings, right?

      On Telco poles? Think again, those aren't publicly-owned, your telco will want revenue if they deign to allow your hardware on their poles.

      On your own poles/masts? Sounds great, you're gonna have a real fun time filling out the permit requests, sending surveyors out to map the facilities, buying the towers, leasing the ground, etc.

      But hey, great plan...

      --
      Ken
    6. Re:Google failed trying to do this by i286NiNJA · · Score: 0

      It will suck at first but I imagine that nerds will handle issues quickly. Projects nerds are passionate about run at breakneck speed compared to the corporate projects that pay their bills.

    7. Re:Google failed trying to do this by i286NiNJA · · Score: 1

      Kenh negative nancy from neptune. It doesn't have to be perfect it just needs to poke holes in the ISP stranglehold on the last mile. The existence of other options.

    8. Re: Google failed trying to do this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You sound bitter sweet tits, scared they gonna come and take yer gunz and jerbz?

    9. Re:Google failed trying to do this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is fairly easy. I can speak to this from being involved in a fairly easy wifi (802.11b) setup that went about 7 miles using a directional antenna (home to the top of a 30 story building). It did work, and that was around 2002.

      That being said, this was a one off case. You need access to a very high building, and you need easy direct LOS to the building. Trying to scale this out presents a lot of challenges. First, this didn't really work well in inclement weather, and there were a lot of reliability problems. Second, this was 2002 and the amount of 2.4GHz interference was minimal. Third, by "easy LOS" I mean we didn't need to setup a pole for the remote antenna (and this, to me, seems like one of the biggest issues - there are many restrictions and regulations for doing this). Fourth, this was one client connecting to the network.

      Nevertheless, I love the idea, just wonder how it's actually possible to do in situations where we would need to connect a lot of people over a large area (with lots of buildings, rights of way, and radio interference). Guess there's only one way to find out...

    10. Re:Google failed trying to do this by kenh · · Score: 1

      Awesome, you are going to compete with carrier-grade infrastructure with a consumer-grade alternative, your going to expect people to buy, configure, and install them themselves, and then your going to charge them for the privilege of sharing a mesh network node with everyone else.

      I'm sure Comcast, Verizon, Time-Warner are all quaking in their boots at the thought of your "poking holes in the ISP stranglehold on the last mile."

      --
      Ken
    11. Re:Google failed trying to do this by i286NiNJA · · Score: 1

      Oh I'm sure people said the same thing about voice and video when the internet first entered the consumer market. First it will be hardcore geeks and then you'll see commercial devices supporting the network whatever it looks like.

  11. De-Regulation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So the FCC basically de-regulated broadband. So what regulation will Pai use to "strangle this baby?"

    1. Re:De-Regulation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought the same thing when I saw this comment. I'm sure a Progressive will come along shortly with a nuanced explanation.

    2. Re:De-Regulation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ajit Pai hides under hyades1's bed, next to his bestest pal, the Boogieman.

    3. Re:De-Regulation by Miles_O'Toole · · Score: 1

      And right below the dent in the mattress being made by your daughter. (snicker)

      --
      Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
  12. "The Internet" as an entity does not exist by Danathar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    People have to remember that what the "Internet" is, is a collection of privately owned networks connected by mutual free data exchange agreement or by paid agreement. So, There is nothing stopping something like this from existing. The "Internet" will exist as long as people with their own networks want to connect to others. I wholly support this sort of thing. At the same time, there is nothing WRONG (in theory) with two private networks paying each other for access to the other. We get into trouble when the end consumer has no real choice in the marketplace to choose which company best serves their needs. Net neutrality would not be an issue if we had a REAL competitive marketplace for the consumer at the last mile. If we had THAT then I could simply choose the ISP that has the least restrictive network rules. As it is now, most people have at most 2 options and in many places just 1.

    1. Re:"The Internet" as an entity does not exist by kenh · · Score: 1

      As it is now, most people have at most 2 options and in many places just 1.

      So, because there are a limited number of "wired" broadband ISPs in a community, we need to build a "wireless" ISP, ignoring all the wireless ISP that already serve the area?

      The entire country is served by satellite service.

      The vast majority of the country is served by multiple wireless providers.

      And of course, as a practical matter the majority of communities are served by both a cable company and telco company, both of which typically offer some ISP services.

      In most communities there is typically only one attractive provider, there are almost always alternatives, but they are not as appealing to consumers.

      --
      Ken
  13. They are starting up their own ISPs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Isn't this the reason given that they repealed net neutrality, to let the market sort it out? So Pai was right?

    1. Re:They are starting up their own ISPs? by Seven+Spirals · · Score: 2

      No, genius, net neutrality has zero to do with ISP competition and doesn't govern it in any way. It's about business weasels using traffic prioritization to juice their customers (among other things).

    2. Re: They are starting up their own ISPs? by kenh · · Score: 0

      You know, like the way the post office 'juices' it's customers by offering Priorty Mail service at a premium over standard first class mail...

      "Faster, more dependable service at a premium price! The post office is stifling innovation and will throttle first and third class mail delivery to force people to choose Priorty Mail instead! They must be stopped, we need 'Postal Neutrality'!"

      --
      Ken
    3. Re: They are starting up their own ISPs? by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      There always seems to be a rather conservative upper limit to the intelligence of shills...

    4. Re: They are starting up their own ISPs? by 110010001000 · · Score: 2

      The difference is that the post office can't refuse to sell you priority mail services or deliver your mail if you pay. Everyone has access to them if they are willing to pay. Once NN is repealed you can say good bye to chunks of the Internet as your local ISP will block them.

    5. Re: They are starting up their own ISPs? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 0

      You know, like the way the post office 'juices' it's customers by offering Priorty Mail service at a premium over standard first class mail...

      Wait, are you suggesting that internet providers should be run more like the government?

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  14. How will they handle the tough decisions? by schitso · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This being Motherboard/VICE, will they truly provide unfettered access to a free and open Internet, or will they cave under pressure and block communications that their politics lead them to believe should be blocked? How will they respond when users pirate content? Share child porn? Or even just visit alt-right websites? I don't trust them, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong about that.

    1. Re:How will they handle the tough decisions? by schitso · · Score: 1

      Upon re-reading, I also want to make it clear that my ideas of a free and open Internet do not include sanctioned/allowed illegal activity--just not an infringement upon all communications for the sake of blocking the illegal.

    2. Re:How will they handle the tough decisions? by Baron_Yam · · Score: 2

      >I also want to make it clear that my ideas of a free and open Internet do not include sanctioned/allowed illegal activity

      The problem - and it is NOT solvable - is identity.

      Either you can trace it or you can't, there's no middle ground. With the ability to identify who the source of illegal content is, you can stop illegal content (or at least catch after the fact those who share it). Without it, you can just give up trying.

      Content itself can be masked any number of ways and WILL be so masked if you try to block something. Ultimately you will rely on investigating complaints, which brings you back to the identity problem.

    3. Re:How will they handle the tough decisions? by schitso · · Score: 1

      I completely agree. I just wanted to clarify that illegal content is an unavoidable side-effect and not outright "sanctioned/allowed."

    4. Re:How will they handle the tough decisions? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It will be free and open like twitter where I was shadow banned for a year without explanation.

    5. Re:How will they handle the tough decisions? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How will they respond when users pirate content? Share child porn? Or even just visit alt-right websites?

      Why would they (or anyone else) give a fuck about any of those things?

      You are presuming they are evil and out to cause harm. If they actually are, then I'm not sure anyone really cares how they will decide to censor; the fact that they will censor or try will be enough for everyone to fire them and build their own community network instead (or just go back to regular ISPs or something).

      But if they aren't evil and don't have harming society as their agenda, then they aren't going to give a rat's ass about any of that stuff. That's the user's problem.

      Maybe "that's the user's problem" is what you're getting at. So they'll forward DMCA notices, respond to LE requests for "who is that IP" etc. But they don't need to do anything about the traffic itself. That's all just administrative hassles that some minimum wage clerk or intern can process.

    6. Re:How will they handle the tough decisions? by urbanriot · · Score: 2

      If you're a cisgender white male you are probably disqualified. Anything pro-Trump will probably be blocked as well, which isn't hypocritical because

    7. Re:How will they handle the tough decisions? by i286NiNJA · · Score: 1

      If you're a twitter user it's safe to say you're an attention seeking psychopath. Twitter should ban as many users as it can.

    8. Re:How will they handle the tough decisions? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ummm. How exactly would they know what the content may be if they are intentionally attempting to provide unfettered access? The very act of inspecting traffic for content would be a violation of their stated goal. Sure they should respond to warrants and such but that's completely different than policing their own network services.

      Next question...Why in the world would you ask about those things? It should be blatantly obvious that snooping on traffic would be entirely counterproductive.

    9. Re:How will they handle the tough decisions? by AbRASiON · · Score: 1, Insightful

      If it's vice, it doesn't need to be alt right, just their definition of it. They've really changed over the last decade. Sad outcome of safe spaces.

    10. Re:How will they handle the tough decisions? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Oh give it a rest. It hasn't even happened yet and you are predicting massive oppression from a project specifically designed to route around censorship.

      It's as if you scan every story looking for how you can work the cis white male oppression angle in. The fact that you have to stretch so hard to do it suggests that there isn't any real oppression to complain about.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    11. Re:How will they handle the tough decisions? by urbanriot · · Score: 1

      Oh, look, it's a member of the overdramatic SJW brigade! Pretty sure that I've never written cisgender within the comments of a Slashdot story and as such your opinion is rendered invalid. Furthermore you may want to consider that my comment was a sardonic tongue in cheek jab at those involved in this 'community internet network'.

  15. Sigh. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When I start to see a few small minded people believe in non-sense such as this I can only sigh. First, "net nuttering" is not going to be 1/10th as the loony left make it out to be. We didn't have it for the first 15 years of the Internet and in fact it has done nothing in the less than 2 years of existance.

    Get another snort in the other nostral and go back to poking your llama.

    1. Re:Sigh. by CodeHog · · Score: 1

      Did not know the Internet has only been around for 17 years. TIL. /s

      --
      Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.
    2. Re:Sigh. by i286NiNJA · · Score: 1

      Hey friend care to post your regular slashdot username that you totally have so we can educate you on the history of the internet?
      The truth is that the internet was highly highly regulated for 20 years until some liberal fuck ruined it all by helping you get on.

      Fucking liberals.

  16. And the net effect is? by bbsguru · · Score: 3, Interesting
    So, one provider to the south side of West Podunk is aggressively Net Neutral. So are a few dozen other socially aware providers in other places.
    That's nice.
    But how, exactly, do these bastions of Bias-Free Internet propose to carry their customers traffic to and from each other, much less the world-at-large that everyone want to connect to?

    That's right, through the backbones of those Other players. You know, the ones who are busily writing the new best-seller, "How to Throttle for Fun and Profit".

    1. Re:And the net effect is? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You buy transit is what you do. You can go to any of the providers with global networks and get wholesale "internet" access at ever dropping prices. You plug your router into their router at one of their PoPs or at an internet exchange and, voila, you are "online" with the internet. Unlike the access network providers, backbone operators sell dedicated bandwidth. There are no caps and no throttling. You don't go to Comcast or any of the other providers who have consumer access networks. You go to Cogent, CenturyLink, Hurricane Electric, or a number of other global network operators.

  17. Yeah, riiiiight by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Clearly they haven't put a lot of thought to that idea.

    Oh, and meshing: I have 480 freifunk nodes within less than 1km around me, yet i cannot mesh with a single one, because they are all use plastic routers with crap antennas. There are only two (!) examples of real meshing within this whole network. Meshing does not work.

    1. Re:Yeah, riiiiight by hjf · · Score: 1

      Meshing does work, if:

      1. All your nodes are of the same brand, model, and revision.
      2. If that particular implementation of the Atheros chip or whatever actually works fine with meshing
      3. The driver support for that particular embedded linux you want to use is good
      4. You are willing to accept speeds in the "single digits" of megabits even with "single digits" of users.

      Meshing will obviously never work even closely as good as a 1300mbit AC device at 5Ghz in the same room. But that's what people tend to benchmark it against.

  18. Community fiber by gizmo2199 · · Score: 1

    It would be interesting to try community fiber, 1Gbps symmetric broadband, for a low monthly cost maybe $30-$40 per month per household.
    There's all this "dark fiber" that the federal government subsidized just sitting under our streets. If communities were able to connect the last mile to all that fiber we could bypass the telecoms entirely.

    You'd basically pay nothing for internet access then pay for TV and streaming services. Fuck verizon!

    --
    This Sig does not Exist.
    1. Re: Community fiber by kenh · · Score: 1

      ^^^ said the guy whose greatest technical achievement was 'hiding' the SSID on his linksys router.

      It's great how you gloss over any and all difficulties in the so-called 'last mile'...

      --
      Ken
  19. Censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is Vice. This magazine is made up of the same people that shout down and silence conservative speakers and throw tantrums on college campuses. Same people, folks.

    Why would I trust them to allow this type of speech on their network?

  20. Re:1stttttt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's explained here

  21. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  22. if by "socialism" you mean free market competition by gDLL · · Score: 1

    "Socialism" from the bottom up.

    If by that you mean free market negociation then yes.... On subject: This exact thing happend years ago in our country (Eastern Eu), which led to very good connection speeds. Unfortunately the big ISPs bought the smaller networks but the net effect is that the high speeds became standard as consumers were demanding them. This is real world what happend, not some theory.

  23. Re: aww, cute by kenh · · Score: 1

    How many streaming Netflix boxes can this proposed 'mesh' or peer-to-peer Network support simultaneously?

    These kids have their panties in a wad because they are afraid an ISP might choose to throttle a handful of websites, so their answer is to implement an alternative mesh/peer-to-peer Network that because of it's inherent design effectively throttles ALL traffic?

    Brilliant! That will show them what's possible when the 'community' comes together.

    --
    Ken
  24. The good old days.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The idea of a public, user-supported, mesh network is a great idea. Combine that with onion-routing, and you could create a lot of freedom that does not exist now. Most large metropolitan areas have population densities large enough to create their own, localized wireless mesh metro-networks. We could essentially usher in an era where the days of home-hosted boards and file-sharing like there were back in the golden days of BBS'ing. Then, a few volunteers could decide to buy Internet pipes from the local monopolies and act as "peering points" to the old, restricted Internet.

    This model increases user participation in the hosting and diversity of sites/concentration points of information on the network. New services would pop up for people indexing or analyzing/providing data hosted on these metro networks, since it would be more advantageous for local users to do such collection and analysis than big conglomerates such as Google et.al. Really, this could be the game changer and anti-net-neutrality combined with expensive, restrictive choices in the local markets might just push us back to the days of enthusiast-networking and hosting once again. This would be a catalyst for bringing back the free exchange of information, and it would put large, nation-wide organizations on the ropes trying to manage such a distributed infrastructure.

    Sites hosted on the mesh-network would be like the free BBSes, and sites hosted on the old, commercial-based international network would be akin to commercial BBSes. Those volunteers that do peer to the Internet of old would be like those Usenet aggregators with the satellite-dishes in their back yards back in the day. Internet peering points would restrict access by Google, etc. to the local metro networks and allow low-bandwidth, international communications such as uucp, irc, IM, low-bandwidth web, etc. Video sites would be localized and hosted locally, incentivizing local entrepreneurs to start and host their own, professional services further weakening the monopolistic hold companies like Google and Facebook have on the world's exchange of information.

  25. BBS returns by grumpy-cowboy · · Score: 1

    It's like having a BBS with a bridge to the Internet (emails, Fidonet, ...) like we did in the 90's. :)

    --
    Will $CURRENT_YEAR be the year of the Linux Desktop?
    1. Re:BBS returns by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      Once again, Trump and his technologically retarded baby-boomer cronies push us one step closer to the 1950's...

    2. Re:BBS returns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If they know enough to start making deals with backend providers to get better terms for local connectivity, sooner or later, they might figure out how to use microwave links and routing to handle long-distance traffic...

  26. Trump has revived the Free Market by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Trump's every move has shaken people away from the teat of Government, and gotten people to start once again thinking about how to allocate their own capital in profitable, innovative ways.

    Trump truly is the most American President the US has had in a very long time; he really is making America great again.

    1. Re: Trump has revived the Free Market by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have said almost from the beginning that Trump is the Drano president.

      You don't have to like the smell of Drano. You certainly don't want to drink it.

      But it can be used to flush out a cloggy disgusting mess. Washington, D.C. is such a mess.

      The buzzards and other carrion birds will squawk. The aligators will fight like hell as the swamp drains.

      It gets the job done. You simply need to flush the mess with a lot of clear water afterwards.

  27. Re:aww, cute by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The current going rate for global transit (the whole internet, unthrottled, at full speed 247, no caps) is less than $0.15 per Mbps at 10Gbps increments, when you peer at one of the network operator's points of presence. $15 a month for dedicated 100Mbps doesn't break the bank, does it? I'd recommend shunning transit providers that also operate consumer access networks.

  28. Stealth by jtara · · Score: 2

    No, not sneaking around. These guys:

    https://stealth.net/
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    Local, and they've been putting their own fiber in the ground.

    They should consider partnering, if this is more than a publicity stunt.

    Disclosure: I have done business with Stealth in the past.

  29. Liberal Shill Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I live in the NYC Metro and am fairly liberal but the thought of having to use Internet via some liberal hack journalist's network is bone chilling.

    1. Re:Liberal Shill Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Speaking as somewhat of a conservative, I consider the thought and effort to actually set up local/community-oriented ISPs to be vastly more respectable than simply whining about how monopolistic telecoms are ruining the Internet and relying solely upon politicians to try to coerce the ISPs back in-line. If you don't trust the liberal hack journalists to set up and run an ISP (I wouldn't either), it would probably be better to get involved and make it a more widespread project.

      With some big reservations, I do have some sympathy for the asserted position of the ISPs. The property owner does get to determine how his property is to be used, and if I allow for the ISPs to sell me the incredibly simplistic view and disregard the details, I'd pretty much agree that it's their right and prerogative to control traffic on their network and sell access any way they want, so long as they aren't breaking contracts or agreements by doing so (including anything promised in advertisements and any unwritten promises given by mere salesmen to potential customers).

      But, so far as I am concerned, the major ISPs trashed whatever credibility they might have had as respectable businesses through their attacks on municipal WIFI: Lawsuits, corruption, pretending to be the "grassroots" opposition, and expecting conduits, cables, right-of-way for their own venture, yet refusing to respect the locals (and apparently failing to keep promises). Seems to me that if "the people" consider their muni WIFI to be merely an oppressive government overreach, then they ought to do their own fighting, rather than it being an external institution taking the initiative and conducting the battle all on its own.

    2. Re:Liberal Shill Internet by MercTech · · Score: 1

      You do realize that in many states it is now unlawful to set up a muni wifi?

      The large ISPs have gotten court orders to shut down muni wifi as it is government directly competing with private business. Direct competition even if the ISP doesn't provide service to small town and rural areas.

      That was one reason net neutrality, keeping an ISP out of personal business, was so necessary.

      My personal experience with muni wifi is very very bad. When you fill wifi with inserted advertisements making reading anything with a web browser a frustrating exercise in clicking multiple windows closed with each paragraph it can be not worth the effort. When you load down a wifi access point with so much net nanny filters that "nail gun" gets blocked as a terrorist weapon; even checking prices at Home Depot. (Raspberries to the Virginia town I'm thinking of. Had to buy a molasses slow air-card to actually do any business across the net on that job.)

      --
      NRRPT/RCT
    3. Re:Liberal Shill Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First, anyone who opposes what is called "big government" should see a serious problem with government at a higher level attempting to impose restrictions upon local government, especially of those restrictions don't have a plausible justification (such as public health & safety or ensuring fairness in legal cases - enlarging the potential market for business is a highly questionable motive for top-down impositions...) and especially if those restrictions are merely the result of anti-competetive machinations of corporate entities which seek to dominate a market.

      Secondly, I fail to see why any sort of activity should be regarded as belonging exclusively to business. The closest I can come up with is the blatant unconstitutionality of many federal programs (though this doesn't apply at the state and local level). As I am unaware of any special rights, I should like to think that if muni wifi is unlawful activity which ought to be shut down, then so is any network run by any private or corporate entity, and that the same courts and lawyers should also work on shutting down all the telecoms.

      Thirdly, if municipal wifi service is really that bad, then potential competitors should be quite capable of operating within an area simply by building a superior network and not tampering with the data (and it should be up to the locals to decide what to do about it).

  30. Daily Stormer. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Watch them twist themselves in to mental knots over "neutrality" when something like TheDailyStormer shows up on their ISP.
    Will they stick to their principles and uphold neutrality or will they kick a legal but unpopular site off because it goes against their politics?

    1. Re:Daily Stormer. by i286NiNJA · · Score: 1

      It depends on the provider. Eventually dailystormer will find a way to host itself p2p or out of hundreds of neighborhood providers, find one that tolerates them. I'm no fan of daily stormer but according to weev the biggest issue is actually not hosting. The biggest issue is that nazis don't have enough talent to run websites at scale and the few of them that can get ran ragged.

      Getting your website shut down by your hoster is just the final straw that makes these guys give up and get a new hobby.

  31. $10/GB by tepples · · Score: 1

    So, because there are a limited number of "wired" broadband ISPs in a community, we need to build a "wireless" ISP, ignoring all the wireless ISP that already serve the area?

    Communities want prices lower than $10 per GB. From a document published by a nationwide wireless ISP describing its home Internet service: "Overage is billed at $10 for each additional 1GB." In the age of multi-gigabyte operating system updates and movie and game downloads, $10 per GB is seen as prohibitive for a household's primary information and entertainment connection.

  32. Re:1stttttt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Exactly. Personally, I would throw him out of the plane and troll him on the way down.

  33. Re:if by "socialism" you mean free market competit by PopeRatzo · · Score: 0

    On subject: This exact thing happend years ago in our country (Eastern Eu), which led to very good connection speeds. Unfortunately the big ISPs bought the smaller networks but the net effect is that the high speeds became standard as consumers were demanding them. This is real world what happend, not some theory.

    We've known for a while now that socialist European countries do free markets better than the late-stage capitalism in the US.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  34. So let's see... by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    ...GOP wants less government generally.

    So to "prove those dirty Republicans wrong", 'populist' web groups create a functional substitute ... that doesn't require government to run it or police it.

    Hm, I guess that'll show 'em, right?

    --
    -Styopa
    1. Re: So let's see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't need government when the people are in control. When two to three companies are in control and have monopolies sanctioned by the states in a lot of places, then yes.

  35. Vice is Canadian by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So.....good luck? But, no thank you. If you succeed from the UKgb, then I'll think about it.

  36. You know what's also dark? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My big black dick. Ask your mother.

  37. Re:if by "socialism" you mean free market competit by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    There is nothing wrong with people using their government to acquire clout in the free market. In fact, it's only way they can. They don't have the capital needed to play the way the super rich do.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  38. Better Comparison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think it is more like the post office charging more for mailing porn magazines then for Home & Garden.

  39. Clueless Article by MercTech · · Score: 1

    The article is a bit clueless. Comcast and AT&T have quietly bought out the internet backbone companies that actually run the internet. With acquisitions and buy outs; the duopoly of Comcast and AT&T have acquired a majority of the ISP companies that provide connection to the internet for most of the U.S.
        Now, they have won a victory in a battle that they have been playing since the mid 1990s making it lawful for an ISP to edit, throttle, and control what their customers can do on the internet.
          Even if you can get the capitol to create a new small local ISP company; it is now legal for the duopoly who runs the internet backbone to muck with the ability of a new service provider to provide service. The FTC fines if they are caught are inconsequential compared to the benefits of proving only the big boys can play here.
        The big telecom companies first got net neutrality put in as a regulation (1996) by being greedy when they finally got into the internet business. The repeated court challenges to net neutrality got it put into a long winded regulation in 2015. By bribing or bullshitting their way into getting the regulation of the internet tossed out; Comcast and AT&T are daring the public to push for making net neutrality a law instead of a regulation.
          We have been dared. Shall we take up the dare and write our Congressional representatives? This might just be one issue that Democrat, Republican, and Libertarian can agree on; giving control of the internet in the U.S. to a corporate Duopoly.

    A> Control of the majority of internet access (ISPs)
    B> Between the two companies; owning all the backbone provider companies.
        That sure sounds like a cartel of two having a monopoly or damned close to me.
    C> Can now legally throttle connection speeds, block content, sell information on use of the internet. Will they decline to profit from those, now legal, options?

    --
    NRRPT/RCT