FCC Done With ISPs Making Excuses For Not Upgrading Their Networks

[turkey3_scratch]

Is it just me that's thinking that having government take over internet is a bad idea? There are issues now about privacy, what happens when government (local municipal or otherwise) starts running it? I think DMV online. Customer service from government is horrendous, because there is zero accountability. Heck, google's fiber optics would have been in my city if it weren't for the crazy regulations that made it impossible to implement it. PG&E is a monopoly, where you are forced to deal with their overpriced services, and they are constantly fighting the growth of better options, such as solar. Beware what you ask for, people. The grass is greener on the other side. The pigs all convinced the rest of the farm animals that things would have been better without the humans around...

The government has always had access to what you access on the Internet. The government always was able to go to an ISP and do a lookup from a specific IP address to see what GET and POST requests were made. What the FCC is doing is good, they are not "taking over the Internet" but forcing the tyrants to cut the crap.

 

[jrharbort]

We've had the same speeds on Time Warner in our area for the past 7 years. It would definitely be nice to see a change.

 

[rayden54]

Good. Right now my only choice for internet is a 1.8 Mbps connection for $50 a month. It hasn't been improved at all in 8 years-if anything it's gotten worse. The company has not plans to improve the infrastructure nor does any other ISP have any plans to do so either. I know. I've asked. For years.

It simply isn't profitable. I live 5 miles from the city limits (and the city itself only has a population of about 7000). There's not enough people out here to justify the cost of laying the lines. The only way it's going to improve is if the government foots the bill.

Ironically, my cell phone situation is only marginally better. ONE carrier works in my house (and not for my neighbors) and 3/4G doesn't work at all. No towers out here.

 

[expunged]

There are parts of the country that dont have broadband at all, only dialup.

 

[davmazin]

well all i have to say is that Isps in Usa seems like the new Carnagie, Rockefeller, and J.P Morgan all about monopoly and abusing the people with excuses

 

[tslot05qsljgo9ed]

Thank you FCC for lighting a fire under TWC *utt.

Last week I got a notice that my speed would go from 15d/1u to 50d/5u at NO ADDITIONAL MONTHLY COST.

And it did go up to the new speed with just a phone call.

I pay either $30/$35 a month for the broadband service from either Earthlink (via TWC) or TWC itself. I switch between them to take advantage of the new user teaser rates.

 

[dextermat]

This needs to be done in canada!

 

[house70]

If I have ever pre judged somebody and been completely wrong, it is with Tom Wheeler. This guy is doing what needs to be done and I have respect for him now.

Same here; I went as far as calling him the wolf appointed shepherd, due to his past, but I was wrong. Keep it up, Tom

 

[jaber2]

I wonder if they do take over who would be the Only ONE providing service, I don't think I do need to wonder, Google

 

[ubercake]

Allow cities' citizens to vote on municipal ISPs. That will give big cable a swift kick in the hindquarters.

 

[davmazin]

you can see all the greed by miles by those isps i suppose they think people are dumb and they will pay for the trash they give to em like buying a 50 year old tv and never getting any better cuz it works common i dont mean that you should not get a new one if yours still work but most people that game trough the net or that wants to play video games need a better conection to be able to play em especially Star citizen that seems to be a speacilly heavy game (around 100GB or so i think they were saying it would have of data not sure of that anyways but if i remeber it was pretty heavy) oh well i suppse they dont mind that people live in the rock era so they can exploit and get the most out of it and the excuse the goverment doesnt give encouragement is plain dumb since there are companies that were giving em encouragement to improve the networks

 

[ubercake]

If I have ever pre judged somebody and been completely wrong, it is with Tom Wheeler. This guy is doing what needs to be done and I have respect for him now.

Same here; I went as far as calling him the wolf appointed shepherd, due to his past, but I was wrong. Keep it up, Tom

I'm still waiting for him to remove his mask. You have to know he's not going to completely screw over his CEO buddies at big wireless and big cable. He used to represent them all as one of the biggest lobbyists for their industries as well as president and CEO of their controlling organizations.

Even though his policies seem pro-citizen, I'm guessing there's a hidden side by which CEOs of the big cable and wireless providers are making out big time from his decisions (maybe even at the expense of their organizations).

 

[toadhammer]

I'm just really tired of only having one choice for broadband.

In 2002, I moved a mile and a half closer to the local phone end-office, and promptly lost the ability to have DSL. That was at 0.4 miles from the EO. It took a year before it was available again, in a major suburb of Wash DC. Since then things have improved, pitifully, and only in some areas. The "competition" is the same as back then: telco, cable, or satellite. But only if they want to step up.

There are two separate issues in the US, basically rural vs city. Real rural expansion will likely never happen, because it's never going to make business sense to roll out that much new line. Something like 80% of the country is stuck with the same old DSL technologies of 10-15 years ago, at best, if they're lucky. For rural, it's always going to be a fight for basic access, against business basics. USF (CAF, etc) is a nice thought, but isn't structured to force change. Direct fines for not expanding a certain % every year might.

Cities are always going to be pushing for more/better/faster. First world problems, to be blunt, compared to the areas of low population density. ISPs will grudgingly give more, and charge more in return, and you'll always be a generation or 2 behind best technology. Again, because it doesn't make business sense for the ISPs to always spring for the niftiest toys.

Cities might end up with enough fiber in place that it becomes simple and cheap to swap out the electronics at both ends or otherwise light up more wavelengths to get more bandwidth. But see above. Still same old same old, with bigger jumps in speed. Wireless or similar disruption is likely to be the only way out for rural.

(And throughout, read "rural" as an ISP saying "I don't want to bother serving those few customers. This can easily mean city or suburb with PITA ISPs.)

 

[jasonelmore]

most anyone who can get dial up, can get DSL. Its offered through the same telephone company you use to dial up.

regarding the "isp cant use moores law argument"

They can, and let me tell you how.

The wires stay the same, but the switches and routers are what can improve the speeds. Using methods such as differential voltage, increased wavelength, etc.. can increase speeds without replacing cable in a lot of these areas.

The routers and switches are the Moores law of ISP. yes more fiber would have to be deployed on the BACKBONE, but not in ever nook in cranny in rural areas. Anyways Most telephone cable is nearing 60 years old by now.. That's a pretty good Return on investment if you ask me DSL Companies... it's time to invest again.

 

[falchard]

well all i have to say is that Isps in Usa seems like the new Carnagie, Rockefeller, and J.P Morgan all about monopoly and abusing the people with excuses

I don't think you went into the subject matter of Owl Barons to understand the analogy. The ISPs are government granted monopolies. Carnegie, Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan created a monopoly by challenging the government granted monopolies with competitive pricing. So the ISPs are more like the government granted monopolies that are inviting Owl Barons in to push them out of the market. Also those aforementioned Owl Barons typically deal with competition through massive infrastructure spending, investment, and competitive pricing practices. Overall, good for the consumer.

 

[alextheblue]

Even though his policies seem pro-citizen, I'm guessing there's a hidden side by which CEOs of the big cable and wireless providers are making out big time from his decisions (maybe even at the expense of their organizations).

Nothing is hidden. He's making sure ISPs fall under government control (Net Neutrality regulations) and he's throwing the peasants a few breadcrumbs here and there. The biggest problem is government-sanctioned monopolies, which he is NOT doing anything about. It's a dog and pony show, a spectacle for the ignorant masses who will praise him - despite the fact that he's essentially changed nothing other than bringing ISPs under the Federal yoke with laws and fines.

 

[MisterJohnnyT]

How oh how will the federal government keep an eye on all of us through our "smart" devices, if there isn't super fast internet throughout the whole country???

 

[davmazin]

If any monopoly is good you are out of your mind cuz that is not possible at all

 

[falchard]

Monopolies are bad, I agree with you. But government sanctioned monopolies are worse. The only way the Owl Baron's became successful is offering the customer what they wanted. The Owl Baron's also crumbled under competitive forces like all monopolies in a free market do. In reality a monopoly can only exist through the interference of government. If you own all the natural gas production and decide to jack your rates, someone may just start offering electricity to replace your natural gas as happened with Rockefeller. In the case of Vanderbilt, he was never allowed to jack up his transportation monopoly because there was always fierce competition. This is why he offered free fares on some routes hoping people would spend more on food. Now I don't know about you, but I would like the option for a free commute to my workplace everyday.