"The internet wins!" Net Neutrality thread here or RPSC?

[digitalwanderer]

Kind of happy about this, I know it's political but it's also sort of relevant to everything internet so I wasn't sure if it's mainstream enough for here or not.

Long/short; the FCC ruled that ISPs are public utilities and should be regulated as such.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...net-neutrality-up-for-vote-today-by-fcc-board

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/new...oves-Net-Neutrality-Rules-Municipal-Broadband

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/26/net-neutrality-fcc-vote_n_6761702.html

Imma still in a bit of shock, I really didn't expect the FCC to do the right thing!

 

[Albuquerque]

Things that I see...

• This sets the precedent for pay-as-you-use, like any other utility. It may even devolve into differential costs depending on time of day, just like electricity. At 8:00pm when everyone and their dog is using YouTube, Netflix and Hulu? Expect your per-gig pricing to slide upwards. I see it like the variable rates that happen with kw/hr rates.
• I wager this may finally be the force that makes skipping sales tax on your online-ordered goods a federal tax-evasion issue. You're going to be on a government-regulated service, so you using that service to AVOID taxes on purchased goods (via that service) is going to result in pain.
• Extended bullet two, when the "internet" is regulated by the federal government, imagine what this does for piracy rings, the "dark web", blah-de-blah. I bet we're going to see a lot more federal court cases about the illegalities that many of us casually partake in.

I'm not sure that I am specifically against any of the above. I will end up paying more because of the bulk of my usage, but I'm not against paying for what I use. In fact, I feel like it will help some people on this planet really start to meter (ie be held responsible) for the amazing quantities of internet bandwidth they're consuming and "not paying for". When your usual month of 2TB of illegal downloads and grey-market TV rebroadcast streaming now costs 1000 a month, that shit will quit with the quickness.

Much bitching will ensue, butt-hurt will be at all time highs, politicians will make it the next Benghazi or whatever. Eventually people will realize how a utility is run (and metered) and it will slowly but surely become the way it needs to be.

EDIT: Butthurt confirmed, Verizon is already crying in their breakfast cereal: http://publicpolicy.verizon.com/blo...sday-move-imposes-1930s-rules-on-the-internet

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Yup, I can see this leading eventually to per MB charges. As well as time of day charges.

As well, I can see this potentially leading to heavy taxation at some point in the future. For example, land lines 12.50 USD in my area for a basic landline. After taxes, ~28.00 USD.

Less roadblocks to government snooping of what you are doing over the internet.

At least hopefully, we won't see something like what happened to our electricity rates (hydro) going up over 200% of the past 15 years, not due to the price of Oil. But due entirely to the fact that our Utilities are allowed to sell their electricity to California, because RSPC...

But at the very minimum, prices should go up due to increased costs associated with compliance to any new government regulations.

In short, I fully expect broadband progress in the US to slow down massively due to this, if the government starts to regulate it heavily.

Regards,
SB

 

[3dilettante]

This sets the precedent for pay-as-you-use, like any other utility. It may even devolve into differential costs depending on time of day, just like electricity. At 8:00pm when everyone and their dog is using YouTube, Netflix and Hulu? Expect your per-gig pricing to slide upwards. I see it like the variable rates that happen with kw/hr rates.

Comcast has tried metered billing out already. No regulatory change is needed to permit it. Data caps are also present, becoming more finely subdivided, and are falling relative to the growth in consumption.

I wager this may finally be the force that makes skipping sales tax on your online-ordered goods a federal tax-evasion issue. You're going to be on a government-regulated service, so you using that service to AVOID taxes on purchased goods (via that service) is going to result in pain.

Not paying sales tax for online purchases is already an evasion of state taxes if the retailer doesn't do it and the buyer fails to fill out the appropriate paperwork when filing taxes. There's no federal sales tax.

Extended bullet two, when the "internet" is regulated by the federal government, imagine what this does for piracy rings, the "dark web", blah-de-blah. I bet we're going to see a lot more federal court cases about the illegalities that many of us casually partake in.

Already illegal activities would be illegal, but the FCC is not a criminal law-enforcement agency. This change centers on not making distinctions on the basis of the content or service going over the networks.