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The FCC's Neutrality Rules Are Live and the Internet Hasn't Died

Despite endless sour prognostications from the broadband industry that net neutrality rules would destroy the Internet, stall investment, chill innovation, and result in a draconian government takeover of your daily reading habits, the FCC's new rules (pdf) took effect at midnight last night and so far, nothing appears to have exploded.

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The rules went live last night after the broadband industry failed to convince the courts that the rules should be put on hold while it attacks the FCC in court. They'll remain in effect for the duration of the court battle, which could last a year or more.

And while broadband providers claimed that net neutrality rules would harm the health of the Internet, fear of the rules actually appears to have triggered an unprecedented amount of cooperation among transit operators and last mile ISPs, improving network performance for everybody.

As for the broadband industry's repeated claims that reclassification as common carriers under Title II would chill investment, there's absolutely no hard proof that's a legitimate worry.

Google Fiber appears to still be upgrading shiny new gigabit networks in Nashville and Salt Lake City. Comcast continues to put the finishing touches on an 18 million potential home two gigabit deployment that should go live this summer. Multiple new gigabit deployments appear to be popping up nearly every day, and we're even seeing ten gigabit offerings start to emerge.

"But wait," I hear you say. "The vile, awful, horrible impact of having meaningful consumer neutrality rules protecting consumers from aggressive ISP last-mile shenanigans will take time to fully manifest." As such, I guess we'll have to chat in the comment section below while we wait for the Internet to die.

Should you be interested in making the most of the rules while we wait for countless industry doomsday scenarios to come to fruition, MLAB offers a handy new test to help detect ISP network management shenanigans, and users can also now complain to the FCC in a number of different ways:

• File a complaint online

• Call the FCC: 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322); TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322); ASL Videophone: 1-844-432-2275

• Send snail mail to the FCC (including your name, address, contact information and as much detail about your complaint as possible):

Federal Communications Commission

Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau

Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division

445 12th Street, S.W.

Washington, DC 20554
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IluvMoney (banned)
join:2015-05-04
MiddleClass

IluvMoney (banned)

Member

Way too soon to evaluate effects of new rules

took effect at midnight last night and so far, nothing appears to have exploded.

The rubber meets the road over months/years as the FCC starts to deal with complaints and issuing rulings against specific targets. Did anyone really expect anything would take place the 1st day?
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

1 edit

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: Way too soon to evaluate effects of new rules

Did anyone expect legitimate complaints to be filed based on these new rules?

bluefox8
join:2014-08-20

bluefox8

Member

Re: Way too soon to evaluate effects of new rules

said by openbox9:

Did anyone expect legitimate complaints to be filed based on these new rules?

I was expecting sky to fall, Internet to crash and kittens to die. Still waiting..
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC

ke4pym

Premium Member

Re: Way too soon to evaluate effects of new rules

said by bluefox8:

said by openbox9:

Did anyone expect legitimate complaints to be filed based on these new rules?

I was expecting sky to fall, Internet to crash and kittens to die. Still waiting..

You know, if the internet crashed, I might get out and have a life!
photomankc
join:2015-05-07
Liberty, MO

photomankc to bluefox8

Member

to bluefox8
Then you acting foolish. The results, real, planned and unintended, will not be known for years. Nobody with an ounce of common sense expected the internet to shut down at 12:01AM today even assuming all the worst outcomes.

fg8578
join:2009-04-26
San Antonio, TX

1 recommendation

fg8578 to IluvMoney

Member

to IluvMoney
said by IluvMoney:

Did anyone really expect anything would take place the 1st day?

The same people who expected airlines to fall out of the sky on Y2K!

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

My Slingbox is working better

Two weeks ago I was having issues with buffering on my Slingbox (Slingbox is on Comcast, iPhone is on Verizon) and I'm using them both in the same place I was at the last time (Baystate Medical Center).

Not as much buffering but I had to turn off LTE because of poor in building reception but the 3G EVDO/CDMA is great.
amungus
Premium Member
join:2004-11-26
America

1 recommendation

amungus

Premium Member

.........

Well, I felt this picture would be fun here

batterup
I Can Not Tell A Lie.
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ

batterup

Premium Member

So Netflix doesn't pay?

Netflix is/was paying for a "fast lane". Did they stop as it is now illegal.

norm
join:2012-10-18
Pittsburgh, PA

3 recommendations

norm

Member

Re: So Netflix doesn't pay?

Netflix is paying for transit from the likes of Comcast and Verizon just like they were paying for transit from the likes of Level 3, NTT, XO, Zayo, TeliaSonera, and so on. They never paid for a fast lane - prioritization over other traffic.

mackey
Premium Member
join:2007-08-20

3 recommendations

mackey to batterup

Premium Member

to batterup
said by batterup:

Netflix is/was paying for a "fast lane". Did they stop as it is now illegal.

Technically it's not a "fast lane" as Comcast isn't slowing down other video providers' traffic or making NF exempt from caps.

Also, NN doesn't prevent CDNs from buying transit directly from ISPs, CDNs can still buy from whoever they want.

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Re: So Netflix doesn't pay?

Exactly - CC and Netflix peer with eachother. Buying transit directly from a last mile ISP helps reduce load on the overall backbone.

Large content providers SHOULD seek arrangements like this to make their customer experience better. Apple, MS, etc. should all peer directly with the top regional ISP's in addition to the Tier 1 backbone providers.

The Tier 1's will breathe a sigh of relief as they avoid the exaflood or whatever Cisco is calling it now.
praetoralpha
join:2005-08-06
Pittsburgh, PA

1 recommendation

praetoralpha

Member

Re: So Netflix doesn't pay?

said by Zenit_IIfx:

The Tier 1's will breathe a sigh of relief as they avoid the exaflood or whatever Cisco is calling it now.

Was it really Cisco that was panicking about that? If I remember, it was analysts and consultants that got their panties in an uproar.

Or was it all Big Networking marketing trying to sell more stuff? I'm not so sure, because Big Networking doesn't care about Big ISP capping connections (which was a big push with the exaflood panic).

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

Re: So Netflix doesn't pay?

Correct it was a guy from the Discovery Institute who read a Cisco white paper and interpolated it as Exaflood:the end of times.
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Di ··· nstitute has lead the charge on a number of falshoods for the easily panic'd such as Inteligent Design (creationism as science) that end up debunked AFTER the fundraising is over.

Flyonthewall
@teksavvy.com

Flyonthewall

Anon

Use this time as evidence in court

By the time this goes to trial, evidence that it has done NOTHING to impede ISPs should be used to prove they are full of it.

tmh
@comcastbusiness.net

-5 recommendations

tmh

Anon

Taxes on your internet bill will appear shortly thereafter

Enforcing these rules are going to cost money. Expect to see taxes on your internet bill soon. Did you really think it's for the consumer's benefit?

Flyonthewall
@teksavvy.com

Flyonthewall

Anon

Re: Taxes on your internet bill will appear shortly thereafter

That's only if the Senate refuses to pass the latest bill permanently exempting internet service from taxation, everywhere.
photomankc
join:2015-05-07
Liberty, MO

photomankc

Member

Re: Taxes on your internet bill will appear shortly thereafter

Yes, they will totally not find other things to tax beyond "internet access". It will just come from magic money.

tmh
@comcastbusiness.net

tmh to Flyonthewall

Anon

to Flyonthewall
Not if they call it a "fee".

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

The rules went "live" last night?

That sounds like some magical script was run and ACLs and firewall rules automatically changed...

IM1811
join:2001-08-20
Haverstraw, NY

IM1811

Member

Thanks to DSLReports!

Hats off to the folks at DSLReports who for many years have worked their collective asses off to keep us informed. Great Day

nonamesleft
join:2011-11-07
Manitowoc, WI

nonamesleft

Member

Are USF fees coming?

USF slush fees for broad band coming soon?

a guy
@mchsi.com

a guy

Anon

Is this "damned it you do damned if you don't"?

I'm hearing that with net neutrality now we'll start to see new small fees (very likely if the senate doesn't pass a bill against that) but if we let verizon have its way then they and the other isps would have screwed us the same way but now with slower speeds for sites not connected to making them profits. Can anyone correct me?

Evergreener
Sent By Grocery Clerks
join:2001-02-20
Evergreen, CO

Evergreener

Member

RIP: Unlawful content?

I'm a little surprised that the RIAA, MPAA or a religious organization hasn't already attempted to compel some ISP to start blocking "unlawful content" per the NN regs.