AT&T Weighs In On Net Neutrality
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AT&T wireless has massive holes in their coverage.
In areas of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, AT&T is virtually useless.
Right. But no one ever considered the heavy use of bandwidth by some customers.
Now it has gotten to the point where the system is getting bogged down. In order to prevent dropped calls and other issues, bandwidth use has to be dealt with.
So instead of charging more for use, the company has to do something to prevent the above issues.
I do not imply this is the right thing to do. Quite the opposite.
However, I do think the heaviest users should pay a premium.
In every other consumable, the more one uses, the more they pay.
Be careful what you wish for.
As you know, when business is faced with new and more restrictive govt regulations which adversely affect their bottom line, typically business will find ways to get around the regulations or they will limit the supply of their current product in order to keep the value of the product from falling.
Should the government institute rules which ISP's consider onerous, I can guarantee investment in expansion and new technology will slow to a crawl. And this will do nothing to stop the consumer cost from rising as usual.
And there will be no value in churn because the ISP's will simply price match. Businesses watch each other closely. If one sees another do something that may cause customers to turn to them, the other companies will follow suit.
When was the last time you saw an intersection of roads where there are two or three gas stations and the prices of each vary by more than a penny?
Internet access is NOT a public utility.
Tell me, what consumer product can you buy where you do not pay more when your quantity used is more?
Lets take an automobile....
Let's say I have a Toyota Corrola and you have an Ford F-250....My fuel tank holds 14 gallons . Yours holds 27. Should we both pay the same amount for a full tank of gas?
After all, according to your logic, a tank ( access to the internet) is a tank..
We pay for speed in MBPS. NOT the amount of bandwidth we consume.
The landscape is changing because of IP tv and other services ISP's simply wish to capitalize on the use of their systems. Heavy users of bandwidth consume far more than regular web surfers and home based workers( Toyota Corrola's) who are not using video streaming and graphics heavy products( Ford F-250's).
If the ISP's and providers are prohibited by government regulations from pricing their product, the result will not be good for anyone.
You must be intentionally being obtuse. This isn't about usage caps. Netflix delivery is throttled regardless of whether I stream 20 Megs of data or 20 Gigs of data. This has nothing to do with data amounts and everything to do with source. This is about stifling competition while making additional revenue by screwing their customers.
To use your analogy of pumping gas... I'm paying for 20 gallons of gas (data) but if I want to get gas from pump A (Netflix) there's an additional charge, if I want gas from pump B (web browsing, email, torrents, spirit, YouTube, etc.) there's no extra charge. It makes no sense for the gas station (Comcast) to get to charge extra because they happen to control the hose (inter-connection) between the pump and my gas tank.
So much wrong with this.
First off, you pay by use for electric right? No reason cable wouldn't be similar even if classified as a public utility. In fact the classification changes only one thing, that the company has to allow the product to pass through to the consumer without being modified or altered. What is the problem with this? I see none. Comcast can still cap and charge for excess bandwidth. What they can't do is throttle based only on where the traffic comes from. If you can't see the problems with that then there is no hope to reason with you.
I never, never said anything about high bandwidth users. Comcast, Verizon and AT&T are throtteling everyone using Netflix, youtube and other video service regardless of usage. That was the issue and why people were up in arms. Its not about the dude torrenting 300gb of porn and movies, this is about Aunt Fae who streams some netflix and can't catch an HD stream because Comcast wants to extort money from Netflix. This will stifle innovation like IPTV and other video services, not classifying an established monopoly for something everyone now needs as a public utility.
Someone said you paid for bandwidth not useage, bull crap. You pay for both (there are caps and you can be charged if you go over) and if you pay for bandwidth you should get it regardless if you are on facebook, youtube or netrflix.
Some of you are talking about heavy users, that isn't what this is about. This is about throttling entire classes of traffic regardless of individual bandwidth use. This is wrong.
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Is it fair to the ISP's like comcast, Verizon and AT&T that spent billions to build out their network, to allow a service like Netflix to use their network so customers can bypass their video service ?
My feeling is that if the customer is not paying comcast for TV but getting their TV via the Internet, they should pay more for the Internet so the monthly costs worked out about the same.
If you think it's bad now, wait a few years when we see ip based cable service where a company ships you s set top box and you connect it to the Internet and it's just like having Dish or directv.
You think comcast, Verizon and AT&T are going to put up with having higher bandwidth usage and costs so you can bypass buying TV from them directly?
My feeling is that if the customer is not paying comcast for TV but getting their TV via the Internet, they should pay more for the Internet so the monthly costs worked out about the same.
If you think it's bad now, wait a few years when we see ip based cable service where a company ships you s set top box and you connect it to the Internet and it's just like having Dish or directv.
You think comcast, Verizon and AT&T are going to put up with having higher bandwidth usage and costs so you can bypass buying TV from them directly?
I am all for net neutrality, but the isp's have to get paid, I see data usage in the future being charged like electricity, but by the gigabyte used.
If you surf just the net your bill will be small, you stream 4k Netflix your going to have to pay $$$$.
Read this:
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20070810_002683.html?ref
First, we pay for internet and should be able to use it as such. Its not up to the cable companies to stifle innovation and prevent companies like Netflix from thriving. If people go over their cap then charge them but that isn't what is happening. I wish people at least educate themselves on that. This isn't about heavy internet usage. Its been said a few times even in this thread yet keeps coming up. Internet providers are NOT bandwidth starved.
Pay TV may under go a transformation, Netflix may become the next HBO but in the end the providers of internet service need to pass the content on to consumers untouched and charge for the service. Its not up to comcast to charge you for the type of data, only for how much you use.
Correct ...
As any company would, if the business isn't there, most won't expand.
You DO REALIZE that the 6mg in most cases is NOT uvsere ....
There is two different trechnologies being used out there, originally they were up to 6mbs with the older technology, which still works fine.
Then they came out with the U Verse internet and it went from 6 to now 55 and expanding depending on where you live and what you can afford ... (gotta love these other companies and people posting that so and so has 100 and what not ... can you AFFORD it ?)
Anyways, now AT&T has made the 1.5 to 6 mbs available to any one as well if you don't want the higher speeds. Not EVERYONE wants or can afford or has any need for a bazzilion mbs
Out in the country were neither cell or U verse work. Of course AT&T claim they do. I have invited them over to check but they refused to show up
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