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I still remember watching Ajit Pai explain why he didn't want net neutrality at an interview he gave in San Francisco. [0] He was obviously trying to stay on th

by welder 4y ago

I still remember watching Ajit Pai explain why he didn't want net neutrality at an interview he gave in San Francisco. [0] He was obviously trying to stay on the good side of Verizon, ATT, etc. but his argument against net neutrality never made any sense. I think Tom Wheeler had it right. [1] [0] https://youtu.be/0OydO9GyhVg?t=570 https://youtu.be/0OydO9GyhVg?t=570 [1] https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/13/14266168/tom-wheeler-final-speech-net-neutrality-defense https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/13/14266168/tom-wheeler-fina...

rezonant 4y ago
EDIT: Previous mistake in parent that was corrected leads to this I'm a little confused about the implication that Verizon and AT&T have merged (they haven't). AT&T acquired some spectrum from Verizon back in 2013 [1], and there have been various cases of customer-base horse trading between them, but these two merging at a corporate level would be a massive news story, and it strains credulity to imagine the top two wireless providers merging without being struck down by the FTC for antitrust. Maybe you could shed some light on what you mean? Tom Wheeler did indeed have it way more right than Ajit Pai, though. [1] https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/at-t-completes-acquisition-of-verizon-wireless-spectrum/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/at-t-completes-acquisition-...
- rezonant 4y ago
  Also, at that point I would expect the newly combined company to rebrand to Ma Bell. It would only be right.
  - judge2020 4y ago
    For reference: https://duet-cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0x0:2376x1740/1440x1055/filters:focal(1188x870:1189x871):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7336991/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-24%20at%202.21.23%20PM.png https://duet-cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0x0:2376x1740/1440x1055... This was before AT&T purchased Time Warner, but as of 2022 they spun off WarnerMedia by selling it to Discovery, so they just want to be an ISP and not a big media company. This was also before Verizon bought all of Yahoo and later sold it.
    - rezonant 4y ago
      Yep at this point, the only parts of Bell that aren't reabsorbed into AT&T are the huge chunks that are merged into Verizon.
- welder 4y ago
  Sorry, it's late here I meant TimeWarner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarnerMedia#AT&T_acquisition_and_rebranding_(2018%E2%80%932021) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarnerMedia#AT&T_acquisition_a... Edited my comment to remove that.
  - rezonant 4y ago
    Ah, figured as much, but for a minute I thought I had switched timelines
polynomial 4y ago
That was the beauty of it. You had the chairman of the FCC right out there talking pure stuff and nonsense, with everyone mostly carrying on as if anything he said made actual sense. Very disorienting time that was.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  I recall the common sentiment, at least on HN, was that Pai was an asshat and in the pockets of ISPs.
  - willis936 4y ago
    I have yet to talk to someone who thinks differently. I am still convinced that the call for public opinion, which had a strong grassroots effort online to support net neutrality, was in some way tampered by the FCC. They used it as justification for killing Net Neutrality. It blows my mind that there still has not been an investigation after all of these years. It was the most blatant corruption I've seen in my lifetime.
    - polynomial 4y ago
      I haven't followed the specifics closely, but I thought it finally came out, through some office or court, that the FCC had, in fact most definitely tampered with a major public "vote" concerning Net Neutrality. I don't have the particulars here, but recall it was something that was very obvious when it happened, but took some years to prove.
    - jpadkins 4y ago
      The biggest conspiracy theory is that the government cares about you, or is responsive to public opinion. There is no evidence supporting this outlandish theory.
  - xbar 4y ago
    Precisely. Everyone knew he was a Verizon/ATT corposhill. There have been a bunch of more corrupt appointments, but he was a standout for anyone who paid attention to any news about technology.

by welder 4y ago

rezonant 4y ago

EDIT: Previous mistake in parent that was corrected leads to this I'm a little confused about the implication that Verizon and AT&T have merged (they haven't). AT&T acquired some spectrum from Verizon back in 2013 [1], and there have been various cases of customer-base horse trading between them, but these two merging at a corporate level would be a massive news story, and it strains credulity to imagine the top two wireless providers merging without being struck down by the FTC for antitrust. Maybe you could shed some light on what you mean? Tom Wheeler did indeed have it way more right than Ajit Pai, though. [1] https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/at-t-completes-acquisition-of-verizon-wireless-spectrum/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/at-t-completes-acquisition-...

rezonant 4y ago
Also, at that point I would expect the newly combined company to rebrand to Ma Bell. It would only be right.
- judge2020 4y ago
  For reference: https://duet-cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0x0:2376x1740/1440x1055/filters:focal(1188x870:1189x871):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7336991/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-24%20at%202.21.23%20PM.png https://duet-cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0x0:2376x1740/1440x1055... This was before AT&T purchased Time Warner, but as of 2022 they spun off WarnerMedia by selling it to Discovery, so they just want to be an ISP and not a big media company. This was also before Verizon bought all of Yahoo and later sold it.
  - rezonant 4y ago
    Yep at this point, the only parts of Bell that aren't reabsorbed into AT&T are the huge chunks that are merged into Verizon.
welder 4y ago
Sorry, it's late here I meant TimeWarner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarnerMedia#AT&T_acquisition_and_rebranding_(2018%E2%80%932021) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarnerMedia#AT&T_acquisition_a... Edited my comment to remove that.
- rezonant 4y ago
  Ah, figured as much, but for a minute I thought I had switched timelines

polynomial 4y ago

That was the beauty of it. You had the chairman of the FCC right out there talking pure stuff and nonsense, with everyone mostly carrying on as if anything he said made actual sense. Very disorienting time that was.

lotsofpulp 4y ago
I recall the common sentiment, at least on HN, was that Pai was an asshat and in the pockets of ISPs.
- willis936 4y ago
  I have yet to talk to someone who thinks differently. I am still convinced that the call for public opinion, which had a strong grassroots effort online to support net neutrality, was in some way tampered by the FCC. They used it as justification for killing Net Neutrality. It blows my mind that there still has not been an investigation after all of these years. It was the most blatant corruption I've seen in my lifetime.
  - polynomial 4y ago
    I haven't followed the specifics closely, but I thought it finally came out, through some office or court, that the FCC had, in fact most definitely tampered with a major public "vote" concerning Net Neutrality. I don't have the particulars here, but recall it was something that was very obvious when it happened, but took some years to prove.
  - jpadkins 4y ago
    The biggest conspiracy theory is that the government cares about you, or is responsive to public opinion. There is no evidence supporting this outlandish theory.
- xbar 4y ago
  Precisely. Everyone knew he was a Verizon/ATT corposhill. There have been a bunch of more corrupt appointments, but he was a standout for anyone who paid attention to any news about technology.