Quote:
Originally Posted by Robbie
Brad, you probably know more about this than most.
My question would be (and has been): Why didn't the ISP's do all of that before 2015?
Was MojoHost being hurt before 2015 and then once the new govt. regulation came into play it made things better for you (and us as your customers)?
That's what puzzles me. The media seems to be "reporting" this like Trump took away a long held "Net Neutrality" that has always "protected" us.
And then it turns out it was something done in 2015...2 years ago.
Makes me suspect that this might be more political bias in the media?
Am I wrong on that? Was all that stuff you said happening before 2015 and the govt. saved all of us?
Or is it just hypothetical "what if" stuff that never happened before?
I could see having concern that something bad COULD happen. That's why I put my seatbelt on in the car...just in case.
But it seems like there is a lot of damn near hysteria out there in the media and among political comedians like John Oliver.
They make it sound like the entire history of the internet up until 2015 was total shit and there was no innovation or ability to make money on the web...Of course they don't mention that it was just TWO years ago that it was implemented.
What do you think? Is it overblown hysteria, or are we screwed?
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This will be a gross over-simplification but here is what people are upset about
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Back in 2004, the FCC set forth principles that claimed the internet should maintain network freedom. It said users should be allowed to access any legal content on it, run any application, access it with any device, and have access to info on service plans. Over the years some companies have tested that. For example, Comcast was found to be blocking and/or delaying BitTorrent uploads. there were reports of ISPs throttling customers who shouldn't be getting throttled etc. So, fights between Comcast and the FCC started. Eventually, this led to the Obama administration passing laws to protect network freedom and it is that which was just overturned.
So, what does this mean for regular people? Could be nothing. The ISPs have said they won't do anything different, but they spent millions trying to get this overturned. Companies don't spend millions to change rules they intend to still keep following. Maybe it will turn out to be nothing. Maybe they will throttle and block access to some sites. What many people think may happen is eventually internet access will look like cable TV. You pay a flat fee for access then if you want access to sites likes Netflix and Hulu you have to pay more (just to get to those sites you will still need to pay the site's fee as well). If you want to play online games it is another free. Sports is another fee and so on.
As for competition stopping this, something like 40% of the country has two or fewer options when it comes to ISPs and around 50 million people only have one choice so there isn't a whole lot of competition.
It could end up being a whole lot of nothing, but many companies were caught already violating the net neutrality rules when they were still in place. I have no reason to think they won't ramp that up once there are no rules.