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[PsychoSoldier]

The working poor are going to be even more fucked than they already are by all this nonsense.

 

[entremet]

I don't know. This argument is blowing very close to the 'teh Internet is a human right'.

I want to participate in the modern economy. I do participate in the modern economy. I enjoy the Internet. I like having a Fast Speed, which I appreciate I am lucky to have. I pay for this service, and if my provider makes faults or I am unhappy with the service, I complain or withdraw.

But make no mistake - equating it to heating, water and gas, semantically what people equate Utilities to be (regardless of how the reality is), is a dangerous game. My family would cope just fine at home with no Internet. I'm 31. Society was just fine before it, and it will be fine with whatever comes after.

Have you tried looking for jobs without the internet?

 

[OminoMichelin]

I don't know. This argument is blowing very close to the 'teh Internet is a human right'.

I want to participate in the modern economy. I do participate in the modern economy. I enjoy the Internet. I like having a Fast Speed, which I appreciate I am lucky to have. I pay for this service, and if my provider makes faults or I am unhappy with the service, I complain or withdraw.

But make no mistake - equating it to heating, water and gas, semantically what people equate Utilities to be (regardless of how the reality is), is a dangerous game. My family would cope just fine at home with no Internet. I'm 31. Society was just fine before it, and it will be fine with whatever comes after.

Your family could but mine doesn't. Have you ever had to do e-banking, travel booking, administrative work? A normal household can save so much time with an internet connection it's not even funny.
What is funny is that some people on this forum consider Italy a third world country and we still manage to have much better and cheaper internet that the USA.

 

[Purkake4]

You can make your own electricity and get your own water, making your own internet is way harder.

 

[WanderingWind]

I don't know. This argument is blowing very close to the 'teh Internet is a human right'.

I want to participate in the modern economy. I do participate in the modern economy. I enjoy the Internet. I like having a Fast Speed, which I appreciate I am lucky to have. I pay for this service, and if my provider makes faults or I am unhappy with the service, I complain or withdraw.

But make no mistake - equating it to heating, water and gas, semantically what people equate Utilities to be (regardless of how the reality is), is a dangerous game. My family would cope just fine at home with no Internet. I'm 31. Society was just fine before it, and it will be fine with whatever comes after.

People got along just fine without toilets in their house too. Same with your fancy gas setup. There is no "danger" in the argument, either.

 

[f0lken]

I don't know. This argument is blowing very close to the 'teh Internet is a human right'. Businesses owe people nothing. They are service providers. They function on fulfilling a want, NOT A NEED. People can function in society without being online. They really can.

I want to participate in the modern economy. I do participate in the modern economy. I enjoy the Internet. I like having a Fast Speed, which I appreciate I am lucky to have. I pay for this service, and if my provider makes faults or I am unhappy with the service, I complain or withdraw.

But make no mistake - equating it to heating, water and gas, semantically what people equate Utilities to be (regardless of how the reality is), is a dangerous game. My family would cope just fine at home with no Internet. I'm 31. Society was just fine before it, and it will be fine with whatever comes after.

Didn't society existed just well before it started using gas? Or electricity which isn't even 200 years old?

 

[PanicFreak]

I don't know. This argument is blowing very close to the 'teh Internet is a human right'. Businesses owe people nothing. They are service providers. ISP's function on fulfilling a want, NOT A NEED. People can function in society without being online. They really can.

I want to participate in the modern economy. I do participate in the modern economy. I enjoy the Internet. I like having a Fast Speed, which I appreciate I am lucky to have. I pay for this service, and if my provider makes faults or I am unhappy with the service, I complain or withdraw.

But make no mistake - equating it to heating, water and gas, semantically what people equate Utilities to be (regardless of how the reality is), is a dangerous game. My family would cope just fine at home with no Internet. I'm 31. Society was just fine before it, and it will be fine with whatever comes after.

People used to say the same things about electricity. Only the cities were hooked up to electricity and rural areas were largely left abandoned.

The future of the global economy will require internet access and for people in rural areas to not have reliable access to high speed internet will only expand the great divide in the United States.

I'm not a liberal but I do believe that all businesses, whether they are in rural Nebraska or in New York City, should have access to high speed internet and that will only happen by making it a public utility.

 

[Bboy AJ]

It's not so great here in Germany. You need to get a 2 year contract. That's shit. But the price is better 40€ for 100mbps.

If only the US did what it should have done over a decade ago. These fucking companies have set us back so much. I'm going to eventually run for office and make the internet my only mission. I owe so much to it.

 

[Noble Neckbeard]

This is a really great article that breaks down the problem in a way that is easy to understand. So many technology based problems rely on a sophisticated understanding of the material to even comment intelligently. I suppose that's often why these problems manifest themselves in the first place.

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

Yup. The only way to change the direction is to bribe local and state officials to undo the monopoly laws. Then bribe them to support municipal broadband.

I'm going to look into starting a SuperPAC focused on this very thing when I get some more free time.

Oh my god if you have the means and the know-how please start one. At the very least, I'll spam it on my end on twitter, FB, etc. We need to play how they're playing.

 

[Alucrid]

Comcast puts so much money into Philadelphia (where I'm from) that they basically own the place.

Only cable provider is Comcast. They do everything they can to prevent comptetitors from selling in the city. You can't get Verizon FiOS in the city because of this. All you can get is satellite or Comcast.

Speeds are decent but prices are not :L

Well, considering that their HQ is here...

 

[Tesseract]

I don't know. This argument is blowing very close to the 'teh Internet is a human right'. Businesses owe people nothing. They are service providers. ISP's function on fulfilling a want, NOT A NEED. People can function in society without being online. They really can.

I want to participate in the modern economy. I do participate in the modern economy. I enjoy the Internet. I like having a Fast Speed, which I appreciate I am lucky to have. I pay for this service, and if my provider makes faults or I am unhappy with the service, I complain or withdraw.

But make no mistake - equating it to heating, water and gas, semantically what people equate Utilities to be (regardless of how the reality is), is a dangerous game. My family would cope just fine at home with no Internet. I'm 31. Society was just fine before it, and it will be fine with whatever comes after.

is this post from the 90's?

 

[Malreyn]

Have you tried looking for jobs without the internet?

This pretty much. There was even an idea to stop printing Yellow Pages/White Pages because "internet" had all the information we ever need from old paper standards. If we end up losing access to Internet on the shear premise "its a luxury" the poor just will never able to participate in society anymore.

 

[Bboy AJ]

I don't know. This argument is blowing very close to the 'teh Internet is a human right'. Businesses owe people nothing. They are service providers. ISP's function on fulfilling a want, NOT A NEED. People can function in society without being online. They really can.

Businesses owe people everything, considering tax payers literally bought them their business. People can also function without running water, heating, gas electricity. What are you even trying to say?

But please, continue being a contrarian to try and seem smart.

 

[WanderingWind]

It's not so great here in Germany. You need to get a 2 year contract. That's shit. But the price is better 40€ for 100mbps.

If only the US did what it should have done over a decade ago. These fucking companies have set us back so much. I'm going to eventually run for office and make the internet my only mission. I owe so much to it.

In Germany, I get 6mbs, easily the worst fucking internet I've had in a decade.

 

[demon]

I don't know. This argument is blowing very close to the 'teh Internet is a human right'. Businesses owe people nothing. They are service providers. ISP's function on fulfilling a want, NOT A NEED. People can function in society without being online. They really can.

Jesus, what bullshit. I'd like to see your attempt at functioning in 21st century society without using the internet. Our society runs on the internet now. It shouldn't be under the control of one or two giant corporations.

 

[The Cowboy]

My current internet speeds from the only broadband provider in my city:

I can't stream shit right now until they fix whatever the issue in the area is. I would pay double for Fios or anything else if I had the option.

Jesus, and there was me complaining to BT when my net went down due to bad weather and my IP profile got dropped by mistake and I went from 38MB/s to 30MB/s (fixed now).

How much do you pay for that?, I pay £21 for mine - its unlimited and includes my phone line, unlimited calls (I have a good customer discount), BT sports channels and BT cloud storage.

 

[Irminsul]

In Germany, I get 6mbs, easily the worst fucking internet I've had in a decade.

Didn't that cable service I told you about in the GermanGAF thread work out? Sorry, not stalking, but your post just reminded me of this

Is Finland still the only country where internet access is a legal right?
The US could use that, i reckon.

I think that was Estonia, but it could've been introduced in Finland, too.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Internet probably should be treated as a utility. But I think to do critical functions related to job, etc., it does not require a lot of bandwidth at all.

What a couple Mbps for surfing and email access? That is likely any standard to be realized in such an event.

Like water. You're given the bare minimum to drink safely. But there is still a multi billion dollar industry selling bottled water, filters and treatments to enhance the experience.

People complain here or are disappointed with 20Mbps a lot of the time. Sure that would still be available but it would be your luxury choice to opt for something like that. So I don't see much change at the top and middle end.

This would really help the bottom. Which is fine. But not much of a change for how we use the internet.

 

[GK86]

What happened to those internet balloons or satellites that were supposed to go up and provide cheap internet to everyone? I think it was supposed to be a publicly funded endeavor, maybe I dreamt it or I'm remembering wrong...but clearly someone needs to step up and challenge these companies

That was Google's Project Loon. Not really meant for the US.

 

[POWERSPHERE]

(In America)

Seriously, most of the world doesn't live there.

But most of the world gets their internet data from there.

 

[WanderingWind]

Didn't that cable service I told you about in the GermanGAF thread work out? Sorry, not stalking, but your post just reminded me of this

I wish man. I am well and truly SOL on getting a better internet speed. I do appreciate you trying in that thread through.

 

[LevelNth]

I don't know. This argument is blowing very close to the 'teh Internet is a human right'. Businesses owe people nothing. They are service providers. ISP's function on fulfilling a want, NOT A NEED. People can function in society without being online. They really can.

I want to participate in the modern economy. I do participate in the modern economy. I enjoy the Internet. I like having a Fast Speed, which I appreciate I am lucky to have. I pay for this service, and if my provider makes faults or I am unhappy with the service, I complain or withdraw.

But make no mistake - equating it to heating, water and gas, semantically what people equate Utilities to be (regardless of how the reality is), is a dangerous game. My family would cope just fine at home with no Internet. I'm 31. Society was just fine before it, and it will be fine with whatever comes after.

Nothing like using history to damn societal progress.

You probably won't ever make a worse post.

 

[TheOMan]

Save us google

Pretty much our only hope.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

All I needed was a number to call in and file a complaint.

Will be calling later tonight.

 

[BFIB]

What's crazy is how everyone thought we, as a whole, were finally getting away from telcom companies shady practices. Except now they have free reign on something that is possibly even more significant than your rotary phone was back in the day.

The internet isn't fucked. We are.

 

[Hoo-doo]

My Yuro-internet is just fine, thanks.

Fast as hell, too.

 

[clav]

All I needed was a number to call in and file a complaint.

Will be calling later tonight.

:lol

Although you are noble, you are doing something that won't make a difference because of the FCC head's background.

 

[Septimius]

American doing what it does best. Yell "free market" while one agent of a market usurps the entire market, holding everyone hostage, even spending billions lobbying for the government to work to improve their position.

Fuck that. Here's to hoping only the internet in America is fucked. As a network administrator, I know how fucking absurd it is to demand paid peering for a service provider. It's ISPs that need to peer, not fucking services. Learn your OSI model, Comcast. Stop making up bullshit to hold others hostage.

 

[Gorillaz]

I don't know. This argument is blowing very close to the 'teh Internet is a human right'. Businesses owe people nothing. They are service providers. ISP's function on fulfilling a want, NOT A NEED. People can function in society without being online. They really can.

I want to participate in the modern economy. I do participate in the modern economy. I enjoy the Internet. I like having a Fast Speed, which I appreciate I am lucky to have. I pay for this service, and if my provider makes faults or I am unhappy with the service, I complain or withdraw.

But make no mistake - equating it to heating, water and gas, semantically what people equate Utilities to be (regardless of how the reality is), is a dangerous game. My family would cope just fine at home with no Internet. I'm 31. Society was just fine before it, and it will be fine with whatever comes after.

Agreed. Especially on the last part.

 

[Arcteryx]

Comcast fucking sucks. I'll be overjoyed if Google decides to bring internet to Portland.

Also, that Comcast speedtest screenshot above is my internet in a nutshell. I've had to call them ~ a dozen times in the past year and they still haven't done shit for me or my neighbors(beyond the usual "have you unplugged your modem?").

 

[UltimaPooh]

I don't know. This argument is blowing very close to the 'teh Internet is a human right'. Businesses owe people nothing. They are service providers. ISP's function on fulfilling a want, NOT A NEED. People can function in society without being online. They really can.

I want to participate in the modern economy. I do participate in the modern economy. I enjoy the Internet. I like having a Fast Speed, which I appreciate I am lucky to have. I pay for this service, and if my provider makes faults or I am unhappy with the service, I complain or withdraw.

But make no mistake - equating it to heating, water and gas, semantically what people equate Utilities to be (regardless of how the reality is), is a dangerous game. My family would cope just fine at home with no Internet. I'm 31. Society was just fine before it, and it will be fine with whatever comes after.

Society was fine when they were able to make their own heat, get their own water, and provide their food. I wonder if people said the same things that you are saying when sewage systems and electrical grids were built.

It's called progress we are becoming a post-modern society which means it's a society based on information. If we don't have cheap and fast access to information we will not succeed and we will definitely not progress.

Utilities are not a human right except for perhaps water but they are modern society rights and it's time the internet and access to information became one of them... or at least heavily guarded and regulated.

 

[AstroNut325]

Oh my god if you have the means and the know-how please start one. At the very least, I'll spam it on my end on twitter, FB, etc. We need to play how they're playing.

Starting a super pac is easy. Heck... anyone can do it! It's getting the millions in funding to bribe the politicians is what makes it difficult. If I do decide to create a super pac I will start by focusing on Los Angeles county and try to undo the BS we see here first. Basically I will need the super pac to get enough funds to air TV commercials promoting the change and fending off the ISP ads using FUD such as higher monthly rates.

 

[genjiZERO]

I have to say that the state of the internet in the US makes me furious.

 

[styl3s]

My current internet speeds from the only broadband provider in my city:

I can't stream shit right now until they fix whatever the issue in the area is. I would pay double for Fios or anything else if I had the option.

You know it's serious when the official comcast speedtest is showing shitty speeds.

When i am being throttled to shit their speedtest always shows me at like 50mbps.

 

[IsntChrisL]

I'm really pissed that Netflix caved and started paying Comcast. This just sets a terrible precedent for other cable companies to take advantage of. It will ultimately lead to higher prices for everyone.

 

[Rebel Leader]

I have to say that the state of the internet in the US makes me furious.

Why are you so against free market capitalism?

 

[ksan]

Society was fine when they were able to make their own heat, get their own water, and provide their food. I wonder if people said the same things that you are saying when sewage systems and electrical grids were built.

It's called progress we are becoming a post-modern society which means it's a society based on information. If we don't have cheap and fast access to information we will not succeed and we will definitely not progress.

Utilities are not a human right except for perhaps water but they are modern society rights and it's time the internet and access to information became one of them... or at least heavily guarded and regulated.

Pfft, you know what some African children apparently said (from some celebrity interview on youtube)?
That they'd spend more time playing, instead of doing extra school work, if they got easier access to clean water instead of having to walk far away to a well.

I think they should they should dig their own damn well closer to their homes if they are gonna spend the extra time playing anyway!

 

[Dreams-Visions]

:lol

Although you are noble, you are doing something that won't make a difference because of the FCC head's background.

Probably not, but there isn't much else I can do right now is there?

Here in Miami, I have only Comcast available to me for broadband internet here. It's good but I'm also aware that the price can rise or service quality degrade tomorrow because they have no real competitor across most of this region. I suppose I could move to a city where Google Fiber is an option, but that's a bit extreme. "Voting with my wallet" isn't a viable alternative because that is a vote to simply go without. I'm not in a position to go without internet anymore than I am to go without my phone service. But at least with the phone I do have several major carriers and metro phone options to look at. TV and Internet services in the US are a fucking disaster area.

 

[UltimaPooh]

Pfft, you know what some African children apparently said (from some celebrity interview on youtube)?
That they'd spend more time playing, instead of doing extra school work, if they got easier access to clean water instead of having to walk far away to a well.

I think they should they should dig their own damn well closer to their homes if they are gonna spend the extra time playing anyway!

The gall of those African kids.

 

[GK86]

:lol

Although you are noble, you are doing something that won't make a difference because of the FCC head's background.

So...sit around and do nothing?

Why are you so against free market capitalism?

He hates freedom.

 

[Rebel Leader]

So...sit around and do nothing?



He hates freedom.

God damn those comunisits

 

[crazygambit]

Had similar problems when i lived in my first apartment. Only one provider and they were horrible to deal with.

Now i have the choice between three and if i want to upgrade my bandwidth speeds (if they upgrade the speeds for contracts) i just call them up, tell them i want to upgrade, pay a 10€ fee and have the new speeds in an instand.

I will never in my life move somewhere, if i can´t get internet from them or a company just as good. In my mind, internet is in the same class as electricity and running water.

Why the hell do you have to pay a fee? It's literally just making the change in their system, they don't have to send a guy over or anything. And why do you seem happy with that level of service? It's ridiculous.

 

[LegendofJoe]

Oh my god if you have the means and the know-how please start one. At the very least, I'll spam it on my end on twitter, FB, etc. We need to play how they're playing.

My brother and I have been kicking ideas back and forth about starting a social activism fundraising tool like kickstarter to help with this very thing. If money is the name of the game in our political system (and it is) you might as well fight fire with fire.

 

[clav]

So...sit around and do nothing?

I didn't say that either.

What you can do is write to your local politicians and start a movement there. Local municipal fiber plants are the only things I've seen that progress.

Probably not, but there isn't much else I can do right now is there?

Here in Miami, I have only Comcast available to me for broadband internet here. It's good but I'm also aware that the price can rise or service quality degrade tomorrow because they have no real competitor across most of this region. I suppose I could move to a city where Google Fiber is an option, but that's a bit extreme. "Voting with my wallet" isn't a viable alternative because that is a vote to simply go without. I'm not in a position to go without internet anymore than I am to go without my phone service. But at least with the phone I do have several major carriers and metro phone options to look at. TV and Internet services in the US are a fucking disaster area.

I share your pain, too.

The deregulation of the telecom industry is what led to today.

 

[BFIB]

I'm really pissed that Netflix caved and started paying Comcast. This just sets a terrible precedent for other cable companies to take advantage of. It will ultimately lead to higher prices for everyone.

They had no choice really. Comcast wanted direct access to their servers. Netflix did not want that. Netflix wanted free reign on Comcast faster pipelines, since Cogent couldn't handle the traffic anymore, and Comcast refused.

With zero regulation in place, pretty much the power was in Comcast hands. Netflix did what they had to do.

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

That article nails it.

with Thor's Mjolnir

 

[GK86]

I didn't say that either.

What you can do is write to your local politicians and start a movement there. Local municipal fiber plants are the only things I've seen that progress.

Couldn't I just say the same thing you said?

Its noble, but you are doing something that won't make a difference because politicians are in the pockets of lobbyists.

For the record, I agree with what you are saying. Regardless of what the FCC's chairman background is, he is the chairman and one of the avenues we should voice our disapproval to.

 

[leroidys]

It bugs me that the title of the article is so broad and inflammatory when it's really only talking about America.

I've been using the Internet since the early 90's and the performance has steadily gone up while the price to access it has consistently gone down. I can't really complain about that.

I think the Comcast/Time Warner merger would be bad for consumers and Americans should stand up against it.

So you're upset that an American publication doesn't put the words IN AMERICA on every article headline they write?

 

[Cereal KiIIer]

Americans do nothing against it. Therefore, they agree.