net neutrality is over

[mameyo1]

https://www.google.com/amp/www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/net-neutrality-vote-live-updates-ajit-pai-latest-meaning-date-blog-stream-internet-change-a8110236.html%3famp

[Kimbo]

It's a sad day, but that is what uninformed people wanted when they voted in people!!

[Capt.Kangaroo]

Very sad day indeed...:(

[dara]

The internet worked fine before 2015. Hopefully this will allow more people access to the internet as new technologies like Fixed Wireless will be introduced, which would have been hampered by net neutrality, and less bureaucracy as government should stay out of the way of progress. I'm neutral on "net neutrality", as that term implied that ISPs would block on their own accord smaller companies, but public pressure actually stops that from happening, or that people would have to pay more for faster internet speeds... well we do that already... and since "net neutrality" came in, the prices have spiked on the traditional ISPs. On the other hand, I don't believe in someone censoring legal content, but like I said before, that wasn't an issue before the rules.

Google has lots of money... they can develop their own methods to deliver content if they want to.

Here's an opinion piece looking at what is holding us back...the lack of competition.


https://www.tomsguide.com/us/why-us-internet-is-slow-and-expensive,news-26251.html

[Kimbo]

and i have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you Dara on the cheap!!:)


https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/what-the-net-neutrality-repeal-means-for-us-w514104

[dara]

Just want to say... follow the money. Why was this an issue in 2015? It's all politics and big donors (re:Google, Facebook, Amazon). Meanwhile, companies trying to innovate had to go to the government to get permission to do so, slowing development. Government should just get out the way. Bring on faster wireless 5G!

By the way, Cali is probably going to sink in the ocean after the big one... so that might be a good bet. :)

[Kimbo]

Well if we follow the money we need to follow the money both ways and the people that sit now making decisions, so it does makes sense. First of all I want to be naive to believe that a few conglomerates want to make money from other conglomerates without the expecting the costs to be trickle down to the customers. Then the innovation factor it might be slowed down by government regulations which are in place to protect all customers. There is truly no way to see this has a good thing unless you are profiting form it. but that is just my humble opinion!!

[ilan]

This was done in customery Trump-fashion...governance by amateurs and idiots. If the immediate past portends the future, get ready for a very rough ride.


https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/14/16777500/ajit-pai-net-neutrality-republican-politics-whoops

[Kimbo]

Could not have said it any better Ilan!!!

[dara]

So, without looking at politics and contributors, and avoiding namecalling, what exactly is "net neutrality". What the FCC did in 2015 was to essentially declare ISPs as "common carriers", like wireline telephone companies, then forced them to treat all traffic as equal, no matter where they came from. Sounds nice, huh? So small users aren't excluded from injecting content into the internet by the bad ISPs. But in reality, streaming traffic is now dominating usage of the internet, by big streaming companies like Google Netflix and Hulu, (and others that you may know of, lol). They like that they can dominate the internet without having to pay more for it. And yes, consumers will ultimately pay, but unless there is competition and innovation, there is no way for the prices to come down.

Here's some info on why nothing bad will happen to consumers. ISP's still have to follow fairness rules, and maybe the best place to normalize this is not to rely on a 1934 outdated law, and actually have the legislators figure this out, than a 5 member FCC.


https://www.dailywire.com/news/18613/7-reasons-net-neutrality-idiotic-aaron-bandler

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-internet-is-free-again-1513297405

[Kimbo]

so let me get this straight, yes we will get charged more but we ultimately end up paying less....hmmm!!! and If we pay less wouldn't that be less profits for the big corporations like AT&T, Comcast and others who spend a lot of money lobbying for this!!! Also the WSJ article link was done a Jon Leibowitz who no matter his political background he main priority is the all mighty $$$, Mr. Leibowitz main client is guess who...yes Comcast!! At the end of the day repealing net neutrality is not about political parties but about profits and that means all of us specially companies like us that make money from internet streaming will be affected. Very happy states are suing, speaking about outdated laws there are a few that affect people every day see it every day on the news!!! I understand the mentality of innovation, less rules and less government but this move has more negatives than positives for the average joe!!


https://theintercept.com/2017/12/14/that-net-neutrality-op-ed-in-the-wall-street-journal-was-written-by-a-comcast-attorney/


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-questions.html

[ilan]

Unfortunately, it isn't possible to separate politics from this. This administration has a naive, all-or-nothing approach to just about everything, and that is what informed this decision. Think of it: Clean air and water regulations...gutted. Environmental protection regulations...gutted. Pairs Accords...reneged. Net Neutrality...reneged. Consumer protection regulations...currently being dismantled.

Absolutely, the regulations needed to be modified and adjusted. That is always the case with regulations. But the notion that market forces will always be fair if left completely unfettered is pure folly, the pipe dream of a grade school economist. For heaven's sake, didn't anyone live through the financial meltdown of the last decade? It was a testament to unchecked corporate greed and practice. It brought the economy to a veritable standstill.

[dara]

Remember, "net neutrality" rules started only because some lobbyists for certain companies swayed political appointees on the FCC. Before then, there was no issue with internet growth.... hmmmmm. I want to know what the real negatives are to the move. My motto.... government screws up almost everything when lobbyists are involved.

Who knows what the end impact on IPTV streaming by "specialty" companies will be. Yeah, it might be bad for the "niche", but there is always something else... you know that. Everything has a life cycle. I don't think there well be an effect on "IPTV" for at least the next two years, and who knows, the next admin will slam the door on the internet again.

Just a suggestion... lets keep this discussion to internet policy. This is not a "politics" board.

[ilan]

It was a good piece by Lohr. I would add (red) to one of his paragraphs.

The brand-name internet companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix, analysts say, will comfortably be able to pay the higher rent. It will not affect their business, though it may crimp their profits. Avoiding higher prices is one reason the major internet companies have been champions of net neutrality. Of course, companies that have to pay higher rent will pass along some of those costs to the consumer. The consumer, then, could receive a double dose of punishment: One for the increased cost of internet access and one from the pass along costs by companies paying higher rent.

[Kimbo]

Government was created to set guidelines and protect citizens!!people keep crying big government this and that but at the end of the day roads, food we eat and medications are regulated by government...I think corruption has infiltrated all the government institutions and this is way before the current administration except now is obviously and out in the open and without shame(quick example:see the Secretary of Education). How will it affect us I agree with Dara on the timeline. But if i was a betting man I will bet my house that my wallet will be lighter!!

[dara]

G But if i was a betting man I will bet my house that my wallet will be lighter!!

Oh, that's a certainty! One way or the other.

[ilan]

Just a suggestion... lets keep this discussion to internet policy. This is not a "politics" board.
Policy is the byproduct of the political environment. I'll bow out gracefully, even better looking than when I started.

[Kimbo]

@ Dara LOL....I see where you went with that :o but I was expecting my wallet to be lighter from the new tax reform this just adds insult to injury. But that just me I'm not going to defend a bad law or regulation because my ideological doctrine but based on the obvious bottom line that the internet just got a little more expensive, and eventually our wallets will be affected.

[floder2]

Regulating anything has always led to bottlenecks ........... Gov should not be involved in dictating what should or should not be on the internet.........ISP's can and will do what they want....Don't want the Gov cherry picking what companies get special privileges........About consumers..."buyer beware" ...............Give Technology and innovation a chance......It can move mountains.......... Remember Insurance is one of the most regulated industries we have....And we all know how expensive insurance is........... Beware of Big Brother...................

[floder2]

20 ideas to cure America's health care








Sen. Bernie Sanders, is famous for declaring health care a right. He is actually correct if we were to tweak his statement to read, “free market health care is a natural right.” Yes, we the people have a right to finally create a free market health care system that will do to the medical field what Uber, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Walmart, FedEx, and UPS have all done to their respective industries.

Ever wonder why heart surgery costs $106,000 in America but only $1,583 in India? Do you find the lack of an “Uber style revolution” in health care absurd?

In so many ways, health care and health insurance – and no, the two are not the same – have missed the great technological revolution. The reason? Big, bad government.

It’s time to bust apart the regulatory state that enriches the big government-big business cartel. And we can start with these 20 ideas on a state and federal level that kick government to the curb and return the power to consumers, entrepreneurs, and health care providers:
Health care reforms

End the medical malpractice boondoggle
Allow hospitals to turn away non-urgent illegal aliens
Offer a tax deduction for those providing health care to indigents
Reform FDA approval process … big time
Make more drugs available over the counter
Stop boxing out specialty hospitals with burdensome certifications
Expand who can deliver care so health providers have to compete for the customer
Promote telemedicine and other modern delivery systems
Break the AMA monopoly on medicine and prevention of for-profit healthcare
Repeal the HIPAA regulatory leviathan
Encourage health care providers to post prices online

Health insurance reforms

Tear down regulations
Promote health status insurance to deal with pre-existing conditions
Stop socially engineering employer-based insurance through the tax code and treat it the same as individual plans
Allow unlimited Health Savings Account spending
Let consumers and employers purchase health insurance plans across state lines
Permit individuals to pool together for group insurance
Change antitrust laws so Big Pharma’s stranglehold on competition is destroyed
Make Medicaid work with the market, not destroy it
Allow affluent seniors to opt out of Medicare

[floder2]

people have been complaining about ISP costs since the beginning... The internet has been around a long time ( I remember modem days in the 80s ). There was always competition and will still be competition before Obama's 2015 Net Neutrality and after its removal in 2017 ! Those big corp users want someone else to pay for their business internet transfers JUST like some large trucking company demanding NO toll roads or taxes ! WHen the market decides winners and losers, the consumer has always benefited. When BIG GOV regulates a business and decided the winners and losers, the CRONY CAPITALISM POLITICAL DONORS win !

[Deadwood]

All things considered, I would not expect anything different considering who the President is and the corporate contributions. There's a new Corporate Wishmaster and he's granting whatever corporate wish list comes his way. If regulations present a problem, he eliminates them. Consumer protection, corporate farming, wall street, banks and corporate taxes, cuts, grants and erasers are just tokens with shell corporations to help keep things out of the public eye.