5 ms·

This seems like a big bet that the net-neutrality fight is over. Buying a TV service makes it much easier to prioritize your own content...

f2n 9y ago
Non-neutral wireless ISPs have always been legal in the US (IIRC). T-Mobile actively advertises their non-neutrality as a feature (eg "Binge On", where approved video streaming sites are zero-rated).
- scarface74 9y ago
  Binge on violated the letter of the law but not the spirit. No money changed hands and any legal video or audio content provider could be zero rated if they followed the guidelines. They didn't advertise it, but there was even a porn site that was zero rated. If a new entrant came in, they would have been on a level playing field.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
Feniks 9y ago
Yep. And don't forget bundling. Telecom operators do not want to be dumb pipes.
QAPereo 9y ago
L. Bob Rife would be proud.
fjabre 9y ago
It's become clear that the Internet as we know it was too vulnerable in its current configuration. We need the Internet 2.0 that is designed to be neutral from the ground up. No one has solved the last mile problem because everyone was content to pay the ISPs and now look what's happened. We need alternatives and we need them fast.
- jdavis703 9y ago
  Internet 1.0 will be "good enough" for most people, so only geeks will be on Internet 2.0. That's not a bad thing, but the internet of today is a way nicer place to be than the internet of the 90s was. And the reason it's nicer is because basically everyone I know is on it.
  - amigoingtodie 9y ago
    I completely disagree for the exact same reason. Progress of humanity, etc.
- Dylan16807 9y ago
  It's not hard to do at all. You can pass a law that forcibly unbundles the last mile, so dozens of ISPs can compete on even terms on the same wire. And that's purely a political will issue, not a "we need to invent alternatives" issue.

f2n 9y ago

Non-neutral wireless ISPs have always been legal in the US (IIRC). T-Mobile actively advertises their non-neutrality as a feature (eg "Binge On", where approved video streaming sites are zero-rated).

scarface74 9y ago
Binge on violated the letter of the law but not the spirit. No money changed hands and any legal video or audio content provider could be zero rated if they followed the guidelines. They didn't advertise it, but there was even a porn site that was zero rated. If a new entrant came in, they would have been on a level playing field.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

Feniks 9y ago

Yep. And don't forget bundling. Telecom operators do not want to be dumb pipes.

QAPereo 9y ago

L. Bob Rife would be proud.

fjabre 9y ago

It's become clear that the Internet as we know it was too vulnerable in its current configuration. We need the Internet 2.0 that is designed to be neutral from the ground up. No one has solved the last mile problem because everyone was content to pay the ISPs and now look what's happened. We need alternatives and we need them fast.

jdavis703 9y ago
Internet 1.0 will be "good enough" for most people, so only geeks will be on Internet 2.0. That's not a bad thing, but the internet of today is a way nicer place to be than the internet of the 90s was. And the reason it's nicer is because basically everyone I know is on it.
- amigoingtodie 9y ago
  I completely disagree for the exact same reason. Progress of humanity, etc.
Dylan16807 9y ago
It's not hard to do at all. You can pass a law that forcibly unbundles the last mile, so dozens of ISPs can compete on even terms on the same wire. And that's purely a political will issue, not a "we need to invent alternatives" issue.