5 ms·
If you live in an area where Comcast has a monopoly, or a pretty strong implied monopoly you pretty much have to do business with them. Most places in the US ha
by adoxyz 6y ago
If you live in an area where Comcast has a monopoly, or a pretty strong implied monopoly you pretty much have to do business with them. Most places in the US have at most two ISPs, one that offers reasonable speeds and the other for compliance that offers piss-poor speeds, but hey it's offered so all is well.
You're never forced to use Google. Google has a huge Internet footprint, but you can absolutely use the Internet without Google.
- ocdtrekkie 6y agoIncorrect: Nearly all business ventures must use Google. If you do not, you do not exist. Doesn't matter if you're a website or a restaurant. No Google presence, no business. Go run ads for your startup on Bing and see where that gets you. Also, try to be a user on the Internet without using reCAPTCHA... In increasingly more school districts you have to either give Google your kids' data and a Chromebook account or you have to homeschool, Google Classroom is often mandatory, as it is here. Again, there are some local areas where one ISP or another might have a monopoly, but it isn't even remotely comparable to what Google is.
- pb7 6y agoIf you have one ISP and they decide to refuse you service for any reason, you don't get Google or any other website. You're putting the cart before the horse.
- ocdtrekkie 6y agoThere are also four national wireless carriers, which offer home service, satellite Internet (including, soon, Starlink...)
- pb7 6y agoAll of which can legally block, restrict, or charge extra for traffic to Google since net neutrality has been repealed.
- ocdtrekkie 6y agoWhich, of course, could be a reason to switch to a different provider. :) As someone who has things like a car PC to which I can't afford an Internet connection because all of the service is priced to include people streaming YouTube and Spotify all day... I find net neutrality an appalling concept. It's essentially a way to force ISPs to serve Google and Netflix's needs exclusively. (They are the majority of all US network traffic, and their bandwidth use as they expand to 4K video is basically drowning out everything else.) Why shouldn't I be able to get a cheap $5-10 Internet service where I have to pay extra if I want to watch Netflix? Most of my Internet devices aren't used for Netflix, but I'd love to be able to afford plans for them.