Comments on news posted 2019-04-01 07:04:34: • British broadband customers will get refunds of £8 every day their service is down under new rules now coming into effect [dailymail.co.uk]
• Facebook considered bird-sized drones to boost Internet speeds [digitaljournal. ..
american readers may marvel at new british rules that isp's refund substantial amounts for service disruptions to their subscribers, but the part of it that's missing is such refunds are voluntarily automatic (there is no government monitoring and enforcement mechanism), rather you may still need to document the disruption and ask for the refund from the isp.
but what many american's don't realize is you CAN get a refund of 1/30th your monthly costs for most unscheduled disruption in your service, but you must call and ask for it. in my dealings as a residential consumer with charter and verizon, i found that charter makes this process pretty easy, while verizon may need the threat of cancellation before they'll capitulate. IMHO it's foolish that ISP's don't make this process easier, since it costs them far more in overhead costs for you to tie up their customers service rep, than the actual refund itself.
so why even bother? it has to do with the records they keep on you... when you call tech support and merely complain about an outage, that call log may be purged after 30 days at charter and 90 days at verizon. however if you get billing to grant you a 1/30 refund, that transaction and it's memo details may stay on your account three times longer. that could make it helpful when you renegotiate your annual subscription rate, and point out how "unreliable" the service is by pointing out to the sales rep your outage history. that may become the ammunition you need against sales for them to give you more favorable monthly rates.
Per the article, they get two days before they have to issue refunds. The wording in the article is not clear but it seems like the clock starts on day one but if it's fixed in two days the carrier doesn't have to issue a refund.
No mention of disaster exclusion. They ought to give carriers more time if there's a natural disaster that takes out a lot of infrastructure. Of course it'd be best if there was sufficient competition to make oversight like this unnecessary.
There are a number of [sic]asterixes on that achievement.
They linked 4 x 100mhz carriers to achieve the feat. Holy cow that's a lot of spectrum. I'd hope the total capacity of such a link is far more than 1Gbps.
There are a number of [sic]asterixes on that achievement.
They linked 4 x 100mhz carriers to achieve the feat. Holy cow that's a lot of spectrum. I'd hope the total capacity of such a link is far more than 1Gbps.
You can only do that with mmwave. No one has or will have that much spectrum sub 6 GHz. Also theoretical speed with that much should be 10 Gbps
Google's Stadia brings more to worry about than just the technical details -
Don't forget microsoft is supposedly releasing a version of the xbox one without a disc drive next month. This is going to be a trend and I really do think at this point that the next generation of consoles will be download/stream only even if they are able to play offline.
Don't forget microsoft is supposedly releasing a version of the xbox one without a disc drive next month. This is going to be a trend and I really do think at this point that the next generation of consoles will be download/stream only even if they are able to play offline.
You either get broadband or you get left behind.
You're missing the point.
When a game is download only/streaming, it's not going to be available forever. At some point, the company will decide that it's not worth keeping online and they'll nuke it. Or the licensing deal will run out and they won't have any choice in the matter.
Imagine if the original Xbox had only distributed games digitally. Do you really think Microsoft would still have the entire Xbox game library online for you to browse and buy games from? Every single game ever made for the system? I highly doubt it.
Maybe you don't care about older games, but many people still enjoy playing them. Some people might have never owned an older console and might want to pick up games that they've seen, but never played before. What happens when you can't even connect online with that console anymore?
Of course today's game systems are virtually at that point anyway, even with physical discs. The game companies all release buggy, unfinished games and as soon as you stick the disc in the console the first thing it does is try to go online so it can download the 10GB+ patch. Then it shows you the 20GB+ worth of DLC that you can't get any other way other than buying it online. Is all the DLC for every Xbox 360 and PS3 game still available? Will it be available a decade from now?
Per the article, they get two days before they have to issue refunds. The wording in the article is not clear but it seems like the clock starts on day one but if it's fixed in two days the carrier doesn't have to issue a refund.
No mention of disaster exclusion. They ought to give carriers more time if there's a natural disaster that takes out a lot of infrastructure. Of course it'd be best if there was sufficient competition to make oversight like this unnecessary.
There is competition between ISPs in the U.K., unlike in the U.S. However competition does not always prevent unsavory behavior. Good example were the roaming rates, only government action could eliminate them between EU countries. ISPs have to calculate for natural disasters. You should not pay for service you are not getting. The two days rule is very reasonable and common sense.
On edit: In a case of a natural disaster, the penalty part should be waived but the customer still should get a refund. large scale natural disasters in the U.K. are rare and the government would probably quickly enact an exception.
Re: Google's Stadia brings more to worry about than just the technical details -
Some article also touched upon game preservation and modding (not as applicable with consoles) as reasons against the streaming trend. I can understand some of the reasons why they do this (piracy included) but ultimately it's gonna hurt sometime down the line.
A common trap, that competition is a panacea for whatever ails the market. A proper balance between competition and judicious use of the law is better.
ISPs that block access to sites hosting the Christchurch shooting video set
Substitute "copyrighted content" for Christchurch shooting video and you'll have a similar argument. Considering Slate is a publisher the position they take should be interesting as potential victim.
Some article also touched upon game preservation and modding (not as applicable with consoles) as reasons against the streaming trend. I can understand some of the reasons why they do this (piracy included) but ultimately it's gonna hurt sometime down the line.
Watch this video, and then imagine it applying to a console's entire library;
Re: ISPs that block access to sites hosting the Christchurch shooting video set
ISPs should not be able to block or remove any legal content. Whether it is something they like, find harmful or is against their moral standards is irrelevant. As pointed out in the article, they are in a unique position and thus should not be engaged in it and should let it be settled between the businesses themselves and the people on the internet that may be seeking that material.
Good example were the roaming rates, only government action could eliminate them between EU countries.
Yes and no. There was one network operator (3) that was quite aggressive at eliminating roaming rates. These were mostly in other countries where their parent company also owned networks (in countries as far away as Hong Kong and Australia), but the US was also included in that.
What remains to be seen (if we actually leave) is whether the UK govt intends to keep the price limits, as these were based on EU rules.
What remains to be seen (if we actually leave) is whether the UK govt intends to keep the price limits, as these were based on EU rules.
They will keep it IMO, however the question is what the network operators in EU countries would do since they wouldn't be bound by those rules in regard to U.K. roamers.
If actual competition exists and one provider's service is significantly less reliable than competitors, regulation would not be necessary much less voluntary billing credits. They will lose customers who value availability above that provider's other intrinsic qualities.
I agree that competition is not a panacea but that perception is at east partially skewed by our modern day "to big to fail" corporate conglomerates. They often attempt to create the appearance of competition.
When a game is download only/streaming, it's not going to be available forever. At some point, the company will decide that it's not worth keeping online and they'll nuke it. Or the licensing deal will run out and they won't have any choice in the matter.
Already happens a lot
Usually it's online only games that run for a few years then they shut the servers down leaving everyone with coasters.
Maybe you don't care about older games, but many people still enjoy playing them. Some people might have never owned an older console and might want to pick up games that they've seen, but never played before. What happens when you can't even connect online with that console anymore?
I do care and that is going to require legislation, not to force them to do so but to not sue out of existence anyone who decides to do so if they refuse.
Then it shows you the 20GB+ worth of DLC that you can't get any other way other than buying it online. Is all the DLC for every Xbox 360 and PS3 game still available? Will it be available a decade from now?
Well they could but it's very unlikely that they would. I mean AFAIK the wii shop is the most recent console store to be shut down and even it had things that weren't available otherwise and it wasn't all that big.
The problems there are like you mentioned that even where the physical media hasn't gone away it's being made irrelevant like with games that are pressed but aren't even on the disc requiring you to download the game you bought anyway as an "update" before being able to play it despite you going out of your way to get a physical copy so you didn't have to deal with that crap on your POS 1.5Mbps ADSL connection.
They could definitely at least attempt to accommodate those with little or no connectivity tho.
Like being able to download DLC elsewhere onto a drive and then install it when you get home rather than a net connection being the only option.
american readers may marvel at new british rules that isp's refund substantial amounts for service disruptions to their subscribers, but the part of it that's missing is such refunds are voluntarily automatic (there is no government monitoring and enforcement mechanism), rather you may still need to document the disruption and ask for the refund from the isp.
but what many american's don't realize is you CAN get a refund of 1/30th your monthly costs for most unscheduled disruption in your service, but you must call and ask for it. in my dealings as a residential consumer with charter and verizon, i found that charter makes this process pretty easy, while verizon may need the threat of cancellation before they'll capitulate. IMHO it's foolish that ISP's don't make this process easier, since it costs them far more in overhead costs for you to tie up their customers service rep, than the actual refund itself.
so why even bother? it has to do with the records they keep on you... when you call tech support and merely complain about an outage, that call log may be purged after 30 days at charter and 90 days at verizon. however if you get billing to grant you a 1/30 refund, that transaction and it's memo details may stay on your account three times longer. that could make it helpful when you renegotiate your annual subscription rate, and point out how "unreliable" the service is by pointing out to the sales rep your outage history. that may become the ammunition you need against sales for them to give you more favorable monthly rates.
Over the last twelve years on FIOS, I've never had any issue getting a credit from Verizon for service being down. This issue is that it is typically a very small amount. Considering they only charge me $20 for Gigabit Internet as part of a bundle. So if internet is down for a day(while TV and phone is up--which has happened in the past)The credit is only around 70 cents. But if all three were down for a day then the credit would be around $2.50 for my account.
Don't forget microsoft is supposedly releasing a version of the xbox one without a disc drive next month. This is going to be a trend and I really do think at this point that the next generation of consoles will be download/stream only even if they are able to play offline.
You either get broadband or you get left behind.
Yes. I've been all digital on XBox since the Xbox One was released(the same with the PS4). There is no way I would ever want to go back to using discs.
There are a number of [sic]asterixes on that achievement.
They linked 4 x 100mhz carriers to achieve the feat. Holy cow that's a lot of spectrum. I'd hope the total capacity of such a link is far more than 1Gbps.
5G also requires FTTN with hundreds of thousands of AP's that only serve ~27 homes (verizon) each. Nationwide ubiquitous 5G is a pipe dream.
Opponents Rally Against Trump's Possible 'Socialist' 5G Network
This is a joke right? I mean I can't believe that it could be a serious suggestion especially from a republican.
Nonetheless, the debate around a nationalized 5G network appears to be serious enough that a group of Republican Senators introduced legislation that would specifically bar the government from building its own wholesale 5G network.
That's some kinda in fighting.
Party A: We should nationalize 5G Party A: Party A wants to make cell service socialist !@#$ those guys!! *Party A hurt itself in confusion.* Party B: Maybe we shoul- Party A: NO! Stay out of this the adults are talking.
It's super convenient as long as you have broadband. You don't have to contend with lost or scratched discs. You don't have to have local storage for your entire library.
However you lose the ability to resell/trade/gift/transfer your games. If you get into a conflict with the company they can disable your account removing access to any games you've paid for. Content is still priced as if you still had those rights. Of course the counter to that is that the digital copies pay for indefinite online hosting but that likely isn't comparable in cost and as history has so far shown is nowhere near indefinite.
That said I don't like discs and none of the problems I mentioned above are inherent they are just issues you run into due to the hyper aggressive DRM everything policies they like to use.
Currently you can even borrow console games discs from public libraries but you can't do that with digital only games because the console makers don't allow it.
I have not looked into this much but even though I have a fairly good cable connection I have pretty much zero interest in Stadia as a gamer. I play many offline single player games and my online games or mmo's are more often than not b2p or f2p..I am not interested in paying a monthly fee on top of my internet monthly fee to play a game.
I would put forth that p2p games have pretty much failed barring some few here and there and most people play f2p or b2p now. This makes me wonder why people think we would be willing to pay a month sub just to be able to stream our games?
I build our PC's here at my home and my next ones will have to be VR capable and this add one more reason why games as a streaming service has zero interest to me.
Re: Opponents Rally Against Trump's Possible 'Socialist' 5G Network
I think the entire core network should be nationalized for a couple reasons. 1 of which is so that billions upon billions don't need to be wasted in creating multiple networks that run pretty much along side each other trying to deliver pretty much the same information to the same people. Makes no sense from a financial, planning or servicing perspective.
One fiber network that goes everywhere and that any wireless company can use any tower to add their equipment to for coverage.
There are a number of [sic]asterixes on that achievement.
They linked 4 x 100mhz carriers to achieve the feat. Holy cow that's a lot of spectrum. I'd hope the total capacity of such a link is far more than 1Gbps.
5G also requires FTTN with hundreds of thousands of AP's that only serve ~27 homes (verizon) each. Nationwide ubiquitous 5G is a pipe dream.
You got the 27 home crap form a known idiot who predictions are often wrong. He also predicted that streaming was DOA and that cord cutting was fake thing and that in fact cable companies should be raising prices even higher. Not a single part of that 27 houses number was based on actual research.
Don't forget microsoft is supposedly releasing a version of the xbox one without a disc drive next month. This is going to be a trend and I really do think at this point that the next generation of consoles will be download/stream only even if they are able to play offline.
Both the PS 5 and whatever XBOX calls it's next console will still use discs. The discless console is just another sku of the XBOX One S. Not even the X version. They are still going to sell the disc verizon. This is for people that want to save money who also don't care about blu-ray or buying physical media. Also guess what, most PC gamers don't buy disc anymore and haven't for years.
I would put forth that p2p games have pretty much failed barring some few here and there and most people play f2p or b2p now. This makes me wonder why people think we would be willing to pay a month sub just to be able to stream our games?
People used to pay for a xbox live gold subscription just for the privilege of being able to pay for netflix on their xbox one.
You also get cheaper hardware as with streaming you don't need near the power to display as you do to actually run it so your $150 computer can stream the latest games even if it can't actually run them.
Both the PS 5 and whatever XBOX calls it's next console will still use discs.
Have they stated that? Even if they have at this point i'd find it at least mildly surprising if they do include disc drives with the next gen.
Like even in PCs many new machines don't even include a disc drive and blu-ray drives never really caught on.
For PC gamers it's a bit less of an issue as backups are usually possible and not too overly difficult whereas they usually aren't even possible on consoles due to DRM.
Also why I am not interested in consoles...the last one I bought (PS3) is collecting dust as I don't even use blue-rays... just too easy to get excellent Bdrips at 1080p online. That said I can see why people might pay to netflix on a console but if you have a mid/high tier PC...consoles just become paperweights IMO.
The thing is I don't "just game" but my PC IS my media center for gaming, movies, tv shows...soon for VR, work, encoding. The PC allows me to do pretty much everything I want or need for only the price of my unlimited cable internet connection and maybe a netflix sub. I just dont see myself paying for another costly sub just to game and then still be stuck needing a half decent PC for all the other stuff I use a PC for.
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