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>you don't have the choice to get another ISP Is this a problem that cannot be solved?

chrisan 9y ago
Not easily. In most places I have lived you have at most 2 options. DSL (if you are close enough) or cable. I guess anyone can do satellite but... shudders Cable is like fiefdoms of old Europe and I'm they would like to keep it that way vs actually competing on the same lines
- stevenwoo 9y ago
  I live 15 miles from Google HQ and those are the choices, DSL/cable/satellite and I don't want to support the cable company so it's DSL for me.
  - floren 9y ago
    If you're in the Bay Area, sonic.net was always great for me. Despite being DSL, it was pretty fast, good uptime, good customer service. I wish I could get them here.
    - stevenwoo 9y ago
      Thanks, I should have mentioned I am using sonic.net. It is pretty good and I don't understand how but it's more reliable than AT&T (the second time I had to stay home from work and the AT&T technician didn't show up I had to switch to something else) when I assumed it was over the same copper wires to the nearest telco office and same telco office.
- freedomben 9y ago
  I'm pretty optimistic on the future of wireless technology. So far it has been pretty terrible, but amazing things are coming.
pedrocr 9y ago
All you need to do instead is regulate or even nationalize the last mile infrastructure and then allow anyone to start an ISP and use that infrastructure to provide service anywhere in the country. If you do that you don't need Net Neutrality. It's not clearly a good idea because it creates a disincentive for ISPs to lay down last mile infrastructure and there's no way you'd be able to do it in the US anyway. All in all net neutrality is just good regulation. It's basically disallowing ISPs from abusing their natural monopoly to extract rents from other companies. If you're going to regulate anything in this market at all that seems like a bare minimum.
SteveNuts 9y ago
Not really, at least in all the places I've ever lived in, there's only a single ISP available, you have no choice. The only way this will get any better is by WISPs to become more common, which will take a lot of time and money.

Not easily. In most places I have lived you have at most 2 options. DSL (if you are close enough) or cable. I guess anyone can do satellite but... shudders Cable is like fiefdoms of old Europe and I'm they would like to keep it that way vs actually competing on the same lines

stevenwoo 9y ago
I live 15 miles from Google HQ and those are the choices, DSL/cable/satellite and I don't want to support the cable company so it's DSL for me.
- floren 9y ago
  If you're in the Bay Area, sonic.net was always great for me. Despite being DSL, it was pretty fast, good uptime, good customer service. I wish I could get them here.
  - stevenwoo 9y ago
    Thanks, I should have mentioned I am using sonic.net. It is pretty good and I don't understand how but it's more reliable than AT&T (the second time I had to stay home from work and the AT&T technician didn't show up I had to switch to something else) when I assumed it was over the same copper wires to the nearest telco office and same telco office.
freedomben 9y ago
I'm pretty optimistic on the future of wireless technology. So far it has been pretty terrible, but amazing things are coming.

pedrocr 9y ago

All you need to do instead is regulate or even nationalize the last mile infrastructure and then allow anyone to start an ISP and use that infrastructure to provide service anywhere in the country. If you do that you don't need Net Neutrality. It's not clearly a good idea because it creates a disincentive for ISPs to lay down last mile infrastructure and there's no way you'd be able to do it in the US anyway. All in all net neutrality is just good regulation. It's basically disallowing ISPs from abusing their natural monopoly to extract rents from other companies. If you're going to regulate anything in this market at all that seems like a bare minimum.

SteveNuts 9y ago

Not really, at least in all the places I've ever lived in, there's only a single ISP available, you have no choice. The only way this will get any better is by WISPs to become more common, which will take a lot of time and money.