3 ms·

if net neutrality fails would google become an isp then?

dsr_ 10y ago
These things are not related to each other. Google owns/operates one of the largest, possibly the largest network in the world. It's called YouTube. (All the other traffic also rides it, but YT is the major app by volume.) Google also is an ISP, in the form of Google Fiber. Google also is a (virtual) wireless carrier, as Google Fi.
- duskwuff 10y ago
  Note that Google Fiber is only available in a limited number of markets, and they're no longer expanding. So they're not much of a competitor to national ISPs.
xenadu02 10y ago
The incumbent ISPs will charge just enough that it is cheaper for Google to pay the toll. If Google is smart they'll double-down on Google Fiber. If the rest of SV were smart they'd chip in and blanket the top 200 cities with gigabit fiber to kickstart some real competition. Ma Bell looks back at the days of $5/minute long distance calls with great fondness. The internet is an asset to be monitized to the maximum extent possible.
takeda 10y ago
No, it's really hard hard to become a new ISP, and actually Google is a perfect example. They have tons of money to pull it off, yet even they are giving up on it (they are no longer expanding to other places). What is happening is that they pull to a city, and offer attractive deals, as soon as they do companies like Time Warner will adapt and match their price and speed, but only in the region that Google get, every other customer in another region is still being f*cked as usual. The regional ISPs can actually provide service even at a loss, because they are available in different regions so they can use money from other regions to subsidize losses in the specific one they want to eliminate the competition. I think at this point best deal for us is if a cities would start providing ISP services, and some are trying to do just that, but unfortunately existing ISPs fighting tooth and nail with this by suing every city that is trying to do that. So, no, nothing can easily replace existing ISPs and they know it. Currently a lot of regulation is needed because there's no competition possible, otherwise ISPs are free to do whatever they want, because who you're going to switch to if you're fed up with them?
- dv_dt 10y ago
  Yup, ask yourself, why aren't there multiple water and sewer providers to homes? It doesn't work economically to supply a competitive market for certain services - physically doubling sets of pipes to end customers just don't work, regardless if they carry water or data. Just saying "the market will provide a fix" in situations like this is a shallow analysis of the problem.

dsr_ 10y ago

These things are not related to each other. Google owns/operates one of the largest, possibly the largest network in the world. It's called YouTube. (All the other traffic also rides it, but YT is the major app by volume.) Google also is an ISP, in the form of Google Fiber. Google also is a (virtual) wireless carrier, as Google Fi.

duskwuff 10y ago
Note that Google Fiber is only available in a limited number of markets, and they're no longer expanding. So they're not much of a competitor to national ISPs.

xenadu02 10y ago

The incumbent ISPs will charge just enough that it is cheaper for Google to pay the toll. If Google is smart they'll double-down on Google Fiber. If the rest of SV were smart they'd chip in and blanket the top 200 cities with gigabit fiber to kickstart some real competition. Ma Bell looks back at the days of $5/minute long distance calls with great fondness. The internet is an asset to be monitized to the maximum extent possible.

takeda 10y ago

No, it's really hard hard to become a new ISP, and actually Google is a perfect example. They have tons of money to pull it off, yet even they are giving up on it (they are no longer expanding to other places). What is happening is that they pull to a city, and offer attractive deals, as soon as they do companies like Time Warner will adapt and match their price and speed, but only in the region that Google get, every other customer in another region is still being f*cked as usual. The regional ISPs can actually provide service even at a loss, because they are available in different regions so they can use money from other regions to subsidize losses in the specific one they want to eliminate the competition. I think at this point best deal for us is if a cities would start providing ISP services, and some are trying to do just that, but unfortunately existing ISPs fighting tooth and nail with this by suing every city that is trying to do that. So, no, nothing can easily replace existing ISPs and they know it. Currently a lot of regulation is needed because there's no competition possible, otherwise ISPs are free to do whatever they want, because who you're going to switch to if you're fed up with them?

dv_dt 10y ago
Yup, ask yourself, why aren't there multiple water and sewer providers to homes? It doesn't work economically to supply a competitive market for certain services - physically doubling sets of pipes to end customers just don't work, regardless if they carry water or data. Just saying "the market will provide a fix" in situations like this is a shallow analysis of the problem.