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Actually if it becomes unprofitable then there will be little incentive to invest in it and it will languish for years. I'm all for net neutrality but I'm also
by wheaties 16y ago
Actually if it becomes unprofitable then there will be little incentive to invest in it and it will languish for years. I'm all for net neutrality but I'm also for corporate profitability. If not for the high margins FIOS and the like bring in, then there wouldn't be a decent internet option in my neck of the woods.
- lukeschlather 16y agoHow many people have FIOS? Where I'm sitting our costs haven't changed in 5 years, and our bandwidth has held steady. Where I was sitting last year, costs haven't changed in 8 years and bandwidth has held steady. I'd say those eight years are the norm, and FIOS is something of an exception.
- leot 16y agoBy "relatively unprofitable" I meant "just profitable enough". When the a product becomes commoditized the market for it becomes (much more) efficient, and thus only minimally profitable, because the principal goal of the actors within it is cost reduction. If internet access becomes a commodity it is _great_ for consumers (c.f. computer memory, public water, electricity, undifferentiated agricultural products) but horrible for the providers/producers. Thus, somewhat ironically, the only incentives corporate lobbyists have to advocate for free-er markets is in order to maintain market inefficiencies or to reduce their supplier's margins.