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While this is disappointing news and I think it will take years before it gets better. My prediction is that this won't last. When the mobile internet was firs
by agotterer 9y ago
While this is disappointing news and I think it will take years before it gets better. My prediction is that this won't last.
When the mobile internet was first getting it's roots most of the American mobile providers offered unlimited bandwidth. Once the network become constrained and consumers started overloading the networks with streaming content the industry moved to tiered bandwidth plans. Years later a few companies (possibly t-mobile leading the charge?) saw this as an opportunity to win customers and started offering all you could eat again. In order to compete it seems most if not all of the providers have an unlimited plan now.
I think the same thing will happen with internet providers. At first you might think that it won't be possible because there are locations with zero provider competition. But I don't think competition is all that far away. Mobile internet is starting to get fast enough for many use cases and there's all kinds of innovation in internet delivery (balloons, planes, sat, etc.) Eventually someone is going to use unfiltered access as a competitive advantage and an opportunity to win customers. The industry will have to follow to compete.
Sadly this is going to get much worse before it gets better. But here's hoping!
- reefoctopus 9y agoI can change my cellphone provider, but there is only one ISP in my area. Competition doesn’t bring down prices when there is none.
- agensaequivocum 9y agoSo you need to work on removing local and possibly state regulations/codes to make it cheaper for startup ISPs to build infrastructure.
- Goronmon 9y agoYou are assuming that regulations exist that have a noticeable impact on infrastructure cost, and that, if these regulations exist, removing them would actually be a good thing. Hypothetically speaking, there is a "regulation" that prevents me from killing my neighbor and taking their home/land. And removing that regulation would technically make it cheaper for me to purchase said land. But I doubt many people would be on board with those sorts of changes to solve a cost problem.
- agotterer 9y agoWhat I was trying to say was that I believe competition will come as it won't be required to run expensive wire everywhere. Wireless, long distance wifi, satellites, balloons, etc. could bring competition to areas that traditionally haven't had it. That may or may not affect price, but it could affect internet filtering and throttling.