tubbynet
reminds me of the danse russe
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Chandler, AZ
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| reply to GOLFnSUN
Re: Free Press lives in some fantasy world
The group is calling upon the FCC, which may be under new leadership shortly, to require that ISPs be completely transparent about exactly how they're throttling, blocking, selling or otherwise tinkering with subscriber traffic. So far, the FCC's refusal to set solid rules on this front has only really helped carriers. While Comcast may have gotten some bad press from their run in with the FCC, they saw no fine, no new rules were constructed, and the door was simply opened for carriers to implement very transparent, but often unreasonable, caps.
no mention of speeds in the article. obviously no corporation is going to explicitly state the speeds that a user is going to get.
however, this group is advocating for transparency in network management techniques when it comes to applications that tend to have high-bandwidth consumption. more and more people are worried about the network neutrality issue because it is only a small jump from forged packets to "tiered" access.
since the isps are not going to provide this information willingly, this group is trying to push them in the direction to do so. i agree that we have become a very litigious society. however, when there is no other way for corporations to be forthright with the consumer, what other action is there?
you of all people should *appreciate* this TK. being the staunch conservative believing in the free market economy, it is the right of the end user to make the decision (with his wallet) what isp to choose. if the isp is not *honest* with the user regarding the network management techniques (maybe honesty is a bit rough, more like open and forthcoming), then the end user can't make the well informed decision that the free market economy hinges on. 
q.
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GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
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join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
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1 edit | said by tubbynet  :no mention of speeds in the article. obviously no corporation is going to explicitly state the speeds that a user is going to get. They did mention speeds:
»www.freepress.net/node/45366
Free Press wants the FCC to require Internet service providers to publicly disclose the minimum broadband speed guaranteed -- not just the maximum potential speed offered. --
My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page
Ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk? |
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openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA
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| reply to tubbynet
said by tubbynet :then the end user can't make the well informed decision that the free market economy hinges on. There's always the "try it risk free for 30 days and get your money back if you aren't satisfied" option. If ISPs are falsely advertising their services, then I agree with you that the free market economy can be twisted and the advertiser should be required to rectify the advertisement. Regulations are already in place to prevent/correct false advertising and protect the consumer. |
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major marco
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
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join:2003-02-13
Stepford, CA
clubs:
1 edit | said by openbox9 : Regulations are already in place to prevent/correct false advertising and protect the consumer. Yes, some State laws of select States address fraud perpetrated upon consumers, however those laws are only as good as the AG who has the inclination to enforce them.
Case in point: California has both a vigilant AG, as well as a Dept of Consumer Affairs, to protect consumers from questionable business practices, but what about elsewhere. A State like Floriduh has very little consumer protection laws. In those cases, federal law kicks in where State law is silent, and, the federal arm responsible for enforcing that protection is the FTC which, in the past 8 yrs, has been about as useful as tits on a bull.
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openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA | FWIW, I'm a happy Floridian consumer so Florida's consumer protection laws must not be too bad. |
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major marco
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium
join:2003-02-13
Stepford, CA
clubs:
| said by openbox9 :FWIW, I'm a happy Floridian consumer so Florida's consumer protection laws must not be too bad. Well gee, I wasn't aware that you spoke for the entire State. |
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openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA | You attempted to do so for two states. |
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Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO | reply to tubbynet
Maybe I am crazy, I would have to look it up again, but didnt AT&T just do this very thing?
They provide speed ranges, which include a minimum and a maximum. Or did I misinterpret something? |
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espaeth
Digital Plumber
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Minneapolis, MN
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1 edit | reply to major marco
said by major marco :A State like Floriduh has very little consumer protection laws. Ironic that would be your example, since it is action brought by the Florida Attorney General that got Comcast to disclose the 250GB caps.
»Comcast Pays Florida $150K For Misleading Consumers |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| reply to GOLFnSUN
Re: Free Press lives in some fantasy world
I'd LOVE to see a "At least ####kbps and up to ####kbps" on ISPs and when they don't deliver, a days credit for every day the minimum isn't being delivered.
after all when my bill comes, i don't get to pay "Up to $59.99/month"
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amigo_boy
join:2005-07-22
Tempe, AZ
·Cox HSI
·magicjack.com
| said by dvd536 :and when they don't deliver, a days credit for every day the minimum isn't being delivered. Sounds complicated to me. How will they verify that you're being honest that you didn't get what they promised as a minimum? Some people are interested in the maximum. How will that be verified? (I.e., the maximum is a useless number).
What you describe sounds like metered billing. It would be less nebulous about how to prove attainment. And, the provider would have an incentive to provide all you're willing to pay for.
Mark |
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jester121
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL
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| reply to dvd536
You can have that now! It's called a T1 and they're about $400-500 per month depending on how far away from the CO you live. They come with a Service Level Agreement (SLA) which spells out precisely what ping times, throughput rates, and reliability you can expect, and how you will be compensated if the SLA is not met.
Oh wait -- you want a $40-50 service? Sorry, no SLA for you.
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k1ll3rdr4g0n
join:2005-03-19
Homer Glen, IL
| reply to dvd536
said by dvd536 :I'd LOVE to see a "At least ####kbps and up to ####kbps" on ISPs and when they don't deliver, a days credit for every day the minimum isn't being delivered. after all when my bill comes, i don't get to pay "Up to $59.99/month" Actually according to that TOS you sign, they could pretty much throttle you to dial-up speeds and still be legally in the TOS; simply because the TOS is so wrapped in "legalese". I'm sure the lawyers that are playing poker in back will have a field day with it.
It will be interesting to see how all this evolves, I guarantee that in a couple of years once streaming media gets yet another explosion and people start getting $2,000 ISP bills...ISPs will quickly rethink the whole caps idea when people start saying "yeah I'm not going to put up with this crap" and either: drop internet altogether, goto the competition, or just buy a T1 (hey they have been coming down in price so it could be an affordable reality for the average consumer).
I personally find the "cap" issue funny in terms of legality. They don't have a physical meter like the electric company (water company is kinda the exception...because well I don't know exactly how you are charged for that) so there is no way they can "legally" prove that customers went over a cap. They can show server logs all day long, but a smart judge would just say "lets see a picture of a meter, don't have one? How do I know you didn't just make this data up?". |
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funchords
Hello
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join:2001-03-11
Washington, DC | reply to openbox9
Re: Free Press lives in some fantasy world
I see a lot of complaints coming from the eastern side of Florida (mostly speed and latency). |
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