Common Ground - Thread 3 - Internet Access

[MLD Woody]

This was my planned third thread and some articles have popped up recently about it so... the internet. 

 

Does anyone disagree that the internet should be a utility? It is clear the internet is becoming (or arguably is now) a necessity. Learning from home now makes it required, and there are a lot of people that don't have access. Digital Divide. 

[htownbrown]

If you're implying it should be provided by any level of government, then absolutely not.

[Westside Steve]

Are you talking a public utility like gas or electric with many different providers but everybody has to pay for it what are you talking about radio & Airwaves? If it's the latter I'm not sure I like the idea for the federal government by the way of the FCC regulating what can be said or can't.

WSS

[MLD Woody]

Just now, Westside Steve said:

Are you talking a public utility like gas or electric with many different providers but everybody has to pay for it what are you talking about radio & Airwaves? If it's the latter I'm not sure I like the idea for the federal government by the way of the FCC regulating what can be said or can't.

WSS

I mean like public utility. 

[Westside Steve]

6 minutes ago, MLD Woody said:

I mean like public utility. 

Okay. So what's the big difference now? Like the electrical cables or gas lines any company sold gas or electric? Not sure what you would want to change. I kind of like the idea of Japan having 5G in they are for everybody to use. But selling internet is a huge business.

WSS

[MLD Woody]

4 minutes ago, Westside Steve said:

Okay. So what's the big difference now? Like the electrical cables or gas lines any company sold gas or electric? Not sure what you would want to change. I kind of like the idea of Japan having 5G in they are for everybody to use. But selling internet is a huge business.

WSS

Yeah I'm not saying there wouldn't be lobbyists lined up across the country to block this.

My understanding is it's not necessarily "free", but it is requiring the infrastructure to get it to all homes. There are probably pricing protections too. 

[calfoxwc]

I suppose woody needs research be done for a engineering class. Helpless.....

the internet is an essential service, not a public utility. Right now, the internet is being abused to limit

information/messaging to favor the left.

This is dangerous. Simple freedom of speech is being violated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2016/07/07/why-treating-the-internet-as-a-public-utility-is-bad-for-consumers/

For the Internet, regulation as a public utility represents a dangerously poor fit. For one thing, Internet access is no monopoly. According to the FCC’s own data, nearly 70 percent of American households have a choice among three or more wired providers, including cable, telephone companies and new entrants such as Google Fiber. One need only watch television ads for a few minutes to see fierce competition among providers. And it works: Nearly 20 percent of U.S. consumers switch networks every year — hardly the behavior of a monopoly.

What’s more, the technology of access, which began with dial-up modems only 20 years ago, continues to evolve rapidly. Consumers increasingly get their Internet access from mobile networks, of which there are several national and regional choices. And with the coming of next-generation mobile, which promises speeds as fast as 10 times what is available even with fiber optics, competition between wired and mobile providers is growing.

[MLD Woody]

One ISP offering up to 500 down at your location, while two others offer up to 10 down, is not a choice of three ISPs

 

 

Also, I fear you are dangerously stuck in the past Cal... which would actually explain a lot

[htownbrown]

I'm just confused on who is supposed to benefit from government internet?  Poor people?  Rural people?  Old people?  Kids?  

I mean it's exactly the recipe on how to create an inferior product.  People who don't have a fucking clue about how to manage this will inevitability be running this unnecessary ordeal. This just begs the question, what could possibly go right?

As wholly unfair as it would possibly be, subsidizing people in specific needs would be far better than government internet. 

[Westside Steve]

7 hours ago, MLD Woody said:

Yeah I'm not saying there wouldn't be lobbyists lined up across the country to block this.

My understanding is it's not necessarily "free", but it is requiring the infrastructure to get it to all homes. There are probably pricing protections too. 

Well given the fluid nature of Technology I would guess that it's all going to be Wireless in due time. Look at the state of landlines today. Yes the gas lines and the electrical cables have already been run and I can buy my service from a few different places. Different areas have different internet wires; here it's Spectrum which used to be Time Warner. Not far from here it's AT&T. Actually the city of Wadsworth co-opted the entire infrastructure and sells their own cable and internet. Not exactly sure how that works.

But opening up either the wires who are the broadcast Towers to everybody would certainly be met with cell opposition by the companies that made the investment in the wiring or the underground cable or the towers.

But however it shakes out I would be glad if we caught up to the universal internet speeds available elsewhere. I just wouldn't get my hopes up about saving any money. That's what we thought when they broke up Ma Bell. Not many people remember when the phone company was a monopoly.

WSS

[Westside Steve]

Side note satellite to drastically change the face on cable TV. Shouldn't be long for satellite internet catches up with optical cable.

WSS

[MLD Woody]

I imagine similar conversations took place regarding electricity, as it wasn't truly essential. At one point the internet wasn't, but I think it's clear that it is now, or at least it's clearly heading that way. 

[The Cysko Kid]

11 hours ago, MLD Woody said:

This was my planned third thread and some articles have popped up recently about it so... the internet. 

 

Does anyone disagree that the internet should be a utility? It is clear the internet is becoming (or arguably is now) a necessity. Learning from home now makes it required, and there are a lot of people that don't have access. Digital Divide. 

I live in the serious country and we have basically two options for internet. Satellite or cellular and they both are terrible. It should definitely be a utility. 

[MLD Woody]

9 minutes ago, The Cysko Kid said:

I live in the serious country and we have basically two options for internet. Satellite or cellular and they both are terrible. It should definitely be a utility. 

Yeah I think one of the main benefits of it being a utility would be to get infrastructure in those areas. 

[Westside Steve]

Not that it makes that much difference but it just occurred to me that gasoline never became a public utility.

WSS

[DieHardBrownsFan]

3 hours ago, Westside Steve said:

Well given the fluid nature of Technology I would guess that it's all going to be Wireless in due time. Look at the state of landlines today. Yes the gas lines and the electrical cables have already been run and I can buy my service from a few different places. Different areas have different internet wires; here it's Spectrum which used to be Time Warner. Not far from here it's AT&T. Actually the city of Wadsworth co-opted the entire infrastructure and sells their own cable and internet. Not exactly sure how that works.

But opening up either the wires who are the broadcast Towers to everybody would certainly be met with cell opposition by the companies that made the investment in the wiring or the underground cable or the towers.

But however it shakes out I would be glad if we caught up to the universal internet speeds available elsewhere. I just wouldn't get my hopes up about saving any money. That's what we thought when they broke up Ma Bell. Not many people remember when the phone company was a monopoly.

WSS

I had Time Warner, and moved right before Spectrum took over.  I hated time warner.  Constant outages in internet, TV, etc.  I have AT&T UVERSE and its been relatively good, though not perfect.  I don't want a dish on my roof so I don't go for the satelite providers.

[Canton Dawg]

I was shocked to find out that when I moved to Medina, there’s basically just one broadband provider (Armstrong Cable).

When I lived in Middleburg Heights, I had my choice among 5 ISP providers.

There is a grassroots company called Medina Fiber that’s slowly creeping its way to my neighborhood, but it’s still a year down the road.

There are some neighborhoods in Medina that’s serviced by T-Mobile wireless internet, but not in my neck of the woods.

I really would like to see some competition to bring Armstrong’s prices down.

[Westside Steve]

1 hour ago, DieHardBrownsFan said:

I had Time Warner, and moved right before Spectrum took over.  I hated time warner.  Constant outages in internet, TV, etc.  I have AT&T UVERSE and its been relatively good, though not perfect.  I don't want a dish on my roof so I don't go for the satelite providers.

My satellite is just for TV spectrum is just for the internet. I could probably just completely switch over Spectrum for TV and internet. Most of what we watch is internet-based anyway.

WSS

[DieHardBrownsFan]

2 hours ago, DieHardBrownsFan said:

I don't want a dish on my roof so I don't go for the satelite providers.

[calfoxwc]

2 hours ago, Westside Steve said:

Not that it makes that much difference but it just occurred to me that gasoline never became a public utility.

WSS

yep.