an end to net neutrality
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YRI5qk6KZY
this could also kill linux at least in the USA

Federal regulators are unveiling new rules today that would effectively abandon net neutrality, the concept of a free and open Internet. The Federal Communications Commission will let Internet providers charge media companies extra fees to receive preferential treatment, such as faster speeds for their products and content. Under previous regulations struck down earlier this year, providers were forced to provide all content at equal speeds. In a statement, the media reform group Free Press denounced the FCC’s decision, saying: "Giving the green light to pay-for-priority schemes will be a disaster for startups, nonprofits and everyday Internet users who cannot afford these unnecessary tolls. These users will all be pushed onto the Internet dirt road, while deep pocketed Internet companies enjoy the benefits of the newly created fast lanes." The new rules will likely face a court challenge.


for us this means most likely we will end up with downloading our distros at dailup speeds
unless we tack action

free software has no place on a pay to play internet nether dose a forum like this one

Moderator Response
 

Moved: This thread is more suitable in <General> and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

Also see:
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...ll-wrong.shtml

As the primary (and maybe sole) purpose of the govm't is to protect corporate interests, the ISPs don't like the fact that Netflix and other services like it are taking their cable customers away. The solution is get the FCC (using various means) to step in and get Netfilx et al. to pay the ISPs for not throttling their service. The only choice Netflix et al. have is to pass the cost down to you.

The important point here is that internet ISPs and cable services are often offered by the same company ... AT&T, Comcast, Verizon etc. They provide both cable and internet and they want to protect their cable business ... by throttling Netflix et al. and using the FCC to make it legal to do so and at a set negotiable cost.

If it weren't declared legal it would be called extortion.

If the cable companies did a better job of providing service and were a lot less greedy
they could out compete net-flix hulu the only problem they would have is you tube

the way they sell there packages fills people with resentment why should one have to buy 10 sports channels 20 Spanish and 30 other channels at $35.00 per month just to get syfy channel on top of the basic service you want history channel that will be another $25.00 a month along with another 50 crap channels

even then all of them run adds why on earth do I have to sit through adds when I'm paying to see the channel in the first place
in a 100 channel package 40 0f them are home shopping channels these are the channels that should be paying the bills
then the you have the rip off salesmen who hide the fact that if you don't have a aaa dun&bradstreet credit rating you pay $600.00 non refundable up front for HD tv yes this is dish tv doing this
while the only channels worth watching in the basic package are the local broad cast channels
and there in HD for free yeha they have adds on the BUT your not paying to see the adds

the motto of big business has become " If you can't beat them buy the government to beat them for you "

and in the process we the people get trampled under foot

Competition isn't what it used to be. It used to mean competing ideas, ideas for a better cheaper faster product. Now it means who has the better lawyers and who can bury their competition the fastest using ridiculous patents and govm't agencies. I guess it is to be expected as everything else has gone to hell, why not this too.

Er. The internet, as in the telco monopoly, hasn't been free or open since the state decided to help the Bells run their monopoly. In their usual way, they didn't prevent anything when they broke them up: they just made a few more monopolies that managed to grow back together again.

There's two forces at work here: state granted protection (unnatural monopoly), and the kickback, Net Neutrality. The telcos probably gave in to that one because, after all, a monopoly is all powerful, but they're finding out that having the government tell them what to do is a horrendous trade, so they want their cake and to eat it too, attempting to back out of NN at every turn. The rub is that they're backing out of the kickback without having to give up their monopoly scheme, which is entangled in their business at every turn now.

As usual, the well-meaning but incompetent government makes a complete mess something that's supposed to be simple. It's hilarious that the formation of AT&T came by way of patent, another loser of an idea from the 1800s.

I keep seeing this sentiment that 'big corp' is bad because it's greedy, but the real problem is who the big corporations turn to every time they want a free ride: the state. AT&T on it's own doesn't mean a whole lot, AT&T with the power of government in it's pocket is a monster. One of those things enable the other, but not the other way around.

Incompetence is by far the best and most often used excuse. You can get off murder or worse with it. I guess it's kind of a psychological loophole in people's minds ... not all people's tho.

any ideas what can be done about this, apart from talking about it here?

is there some assocoation one could join? petitions to sign? ads to put up on my own web page?

This is the newest petition in a line of such petitions, I will sign it:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pet...tates/9sxxdBgy

thanks, but i'm not a us citizen.
i guess i'll have to search more (my request was a bit lazy anyway) and also see how this affects europe...
on a more general note, i think i'll start here: https://www.eff.org/

if your in the US you can write your congressmen and bitch about how unfair it as an internet user
and how this would strangle economic growth accost large segments of the economy

If your out side the US you should bitch about it may be coming here and don't want it where you are



blasphemy of blasphemies

we may even be able to get google on our side by promising to support them in bringing there fiber service to your town

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554

Phone: 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322)
TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322)
Fax: 1-866-418-0232


I have already contacted my congress men tomorrow I'm going to call the FCC

The day is approaching when "diverse opinions " will be barred from the Internet one way or another and an " underground system " will probably come into existence!

Relevant comic:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M...953723326.jpeg