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from the what-speed-is-their-connection? dept.
In an absolute surprise to nobody, six Senators came out today saying something along the lines of 5Mbps should be enough for anybody:
Today's letter from Steve Daines (R-MT), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Cory Gardner (R-CO) is almost hilarious in its deep misunderstanding about how people actually use the internet and what they need. The senators say that the 25Mbps standard is unnecessary because, for example, Netflix only recommends a download speed of 5Mbps for HD video, and Amazon only 3.5Mbps. (The recommendation for 4K video from Netflix is actually 25Mbps, but we suppose lawmakers agree that nobody should enjoy Ultra HD content yet.)
The senators say they are "concerned that this arbitrary 25/3 Mbps benchmark fails to accurately capture what most Americans consider broadband," and that "the use of this benchmark discourages broadband providers from offering speeds at or above the benchmark." If these sound exactly like talking points from Verizon, Comcast, and other major ISPs, that's because they are: Comcast loves to tell Americans that they don't need faster internet, and ISPs join together every time they are about to be regulated to say that regulations will chill their future investments. Ars Technica reported that Republicans in Congress echoed ISP spin about network investments in hearings over net neutrality, but then just three months after the net neutrality rules took effect last year, Comcast posted earnings that showed its capital expenditures actually increased by 11 percent. So the idea that creating a standard will discourage ISPs from meeting that standard is total nonsense.
What about you lot? Does your connection meet the new broadband definition? Mine matches the download side but fails by two thirds on the upload side.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Saturday January 23 2016, @03:09PM
Look at history too. There are plenty of examples of a market developing into an oligopoly and stagnating, rather than competing and advancing faster and providing better products and service than if there was a publicly controlled option. In particular, highway systems share many properties with networks. The first significant advance in roads since the Middle Ages was the railroad in the late 18th century. Around 1820, improved surfaces for wagon trails were developed: macadam, AKA the gravel road. Cement was also developed in the 1820s, but the idea of concrete took another 50 years, and tarmac (asphalt) was about 1900. Brick roads were impractical, too expensive for any but the most high traffic areas. So railroads had a significant technological edge through the 19th century. There were also canals, but their properties are different enough that the competition between systems was modest.
Railroads are private corporations. At first, they spread rapidly and competition was fierce. Then, as the market matured, they consolidated, began to evolve into monopolies. And of course, the monopolies played dirty. In the context of the 19th century, the term "robber baron" refers to railroad owners for good reason. What made Theodore Roosevelt such a great president was that he took the side of the people against these monopolists of the Gilded Age, and the railroads were one of his primary targets.
With the advent of the automobile, private automobile roads began to spring up. There was the Lincoln Highway, Dixie Highway, Jackson Highway, Bee-Line Highway, Grand Army of the Republic Highway, etc. One of their biggest problems was a basic conflict of interest: squeezing travelers for more money by giving them the runaround, profiting from delays. It was total Broken Window Fallacy. Travelers who took the wrong road would need more gas, more meals, might have to spend an extra night on the road, and suffered more wear and tear on their cars, might need more maintenance. There were several responses to this. The AAA took on the task of making accurate road maps. Finally, as public pressure mounted, the federal government took over the highway system to clean up the mess these private companies had made, and to expand into areas that the private road companies had neglected, rolling out the numbered highway system Possibly the private companies lacked resources and time, but maybe these regions weren't profitable enough. Sound familiar?