All Things Net Neutrality

[Daseal]

According to Layer 3 communications, this problem could be helped by just plugging in some more cables. Nearly no cost to either side (we're talking cents) to which Verizon isn't giving them permission. Interesting...

Oh girl, you jus' didn't: Level 3 slaps Verizon in Netflix throttle blowup • The Register

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Yeah, this was brutal. Doesn't that go against the free market? We need one of two things to happen in the cable and internet markets. Either regulate the current solutions to protect consumers to guarantee certain levels of service at certain prices, or find a way to inject true competition. The problem with internet/cable providers is that most people have 1-2 legitimate options, more often than not a single option. I know in the Northern VA area the apartment/condo complexes will sign exclusivity agreements with the cable providers.

The really interesting part is look at the cable providers in areas that Google Fiber moved in. Google is able to come in and push the big boys because of deep pockets, most new internet providers don't have that ability. Every city they've moved into the current providers IMMEDIATELY offered faster/better service at a lower price. Showed they clearly have the capability, they just don't have any incentive. The United States is slowly desolving into the luddites of the 1st world. We need infrastructure, we need information, and we need to lower the barrier to entry. We're not a free market anymore, we're protecting these massive companies and their profits rather than forcing them to innovate to stay on top.

You know what, I think I might start treating myself as an ISP. I'm a government contractor. I'm going to start demanding direct payment from the government as well as my company. I think it'll go great!

Couldn't agree more. In fact when I think about it so many on the right are quick to call anything they don't like Socialism but in it's simplest form what is socialism? Basically a product or service in which people are limited to one provider.

It sucks that they refuse to see the lack of high speed competition in regards to broadband on the local level and even when they do, they count non feasible high speed options such as mobile provider hot spots with extremely low data caps, outdated DSL, and satellite internet which also comes with ridiculously low data caps not to mention terrible ping times.

I apologize if for this thread I sound like a card carrying Dem, but in regards to all things technology I've learned that Dems can at least be shamed into taking the right position. Republicans on the other hand are outright dangerous in regards to internet policy. As seen with this recent vote where they have prevented cities with currently existing fiber networks from competing with Cable providers. Which is tragically comedic to me because you would think with their confidence in the free market they would be eager to see a government service go head to head with a private company.

If you consider one of the main complaints the GOP has about Obamacare is they didn't have a say in the bill. Well guess what, we have another issue now that needs to be addressed, and yet they continue to pretend, just as they did with health care that there isn't a problem. You don't need to go all the way with Title II but they certainly shouldn't be actively working to block solutions that are in line with free market policies, ie increasing competition.

I will say this though, Comcast certainly knows when to hold them and when to fold them unlike a similar company...say Verizon?
Comcast loves the FCC’s net neutrality rules, wants limits on “fast lanes� | Ars Technica

[tshile]

I'd think twice before believing Comcast is out for anyone's best interest other than their own.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by tshile

I'd think twice before believing Comcast is out for anyone's best interest other than their own.

Oh trust me I know that all to well. In fact if I had to rank the top 5 National ISP's (Comcast, AT&T, Time Warner, Cox, Verizon) I'd easily rank Comcast as the most evil. Officially Verizon is still 'reviewing' the initial FCC proposal unless I missed something since their initial press release. To me it seems Verizon wants go all in on killing net neutrality while Comcast seems to be more along the lines of 'quit while you're ahead.'

In other words Comcast seems to realize that attempting to completely do away with net neutrality and hoping for the Republican Net Neutrality plan, aka 'hopefully you can afford antitrust litigation', is a fools game. By voicing their support for the FCC proposal they seemed to have realized that this is the most realistic way to turn the fast lane into a reality (read; get paid). I also imagine that it allows them to stay on regulators good side both in regards to their NBC merger and their upcoming Time Warner Merger.

Not to mention they at least get to seem like they support the open internet. Though knowing Comcast if they thought they could get away with killing both net neutrality and the open internet they wouldn't hesitate.

[Dirtbag59]

Verizon still f'ing up.
Verizon made an enemy: FiOS customer mad that Netflix works better on VPN | Ars Technica

I'm on FiOS and also have to use a VPN to get acceptable streaming quality (a big pain since although my desktop is hooked up to my TV, I'd rather use the Netflix app on TV). I tried complaining to Verizon about this, and broke my usual rule about "play dumb with tech support and just let them think I'm technologically inept" and said I was using a VPN and everything...and they kept trying to upsell me to the 75/35 tier that this guy is on. When I'm already on 50/25. Because 50/25 clearly isn't enough to watch Netflix at a quality above that of a 1990s-era Quicktime video.

For those that aren't familiar with VPN's here's a quick explanation. Say we have Verizon for our home ISP and at work we have XYZ-ISP. Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) we can connect to our XYZ-ISP network from home with our Verizon Internet but obviously we won't be getting nearly the speed as if we were actually at work. Anyone that's seen lag when IT remotely accesses your desktop should have an idea. 999,999,999/1,000,000,000 using a VPN to increase speeds will not work. It pretty much violates Newmans laws of psychics.

In other news count AT&T among the ones that know whats good for them.
With 1 million comments, U.S. net neutrality debate nears first marker | Reuters

AT&T, though, said the FCC could ban paid prioritization without reclassifying ISPs. It is unclear how the approach would stand up in court. Verizon and Comcast supported the "commercially reasonable" standard.

Of course there's also this fun story.
AT&T supports a fast lane� ban as long as it contains a giant loophole | Ars Technica

[Dirtbag59]

In support of Verizon I have created my own custom Fios logo.
Verizon: Slow Buffering Speeds Are Netflix's Fault - TIME

Before:


After:


Don't lie down against the evil empire known as Netflix. You got to fight for your rites....yeah!

If you are willing to stand with me then please post the After image in every post throughout the forum and use Comic Sans font to show Netflix you won't let them bully helpless companies trying to make a living! Remember, use Comic Sans font to let them know we are deadly serious!

[Giantone]

So , we just bought a new TV for the Mrs in her sew/knitting room ..42 in Insignia HD very nice ok my daughter bought her a Ruko box so she can get nexflicks , has anyone ever had any trouble setting that up ?My internet is, fine speed is good ,I do have Comcast .

[tshile]

Heh.

Comcast’s worst nightmare: How Tennessee could save America’s Internet - Salon.com

This is why you cannot say that capitalism, or the private sector, is the answer for everything. When your bottom line is profit motivated you can find yourself in a situation where what's best for your company, is what's worse for everyone else.

This is also why everyone should scoff when AT&T, Time Warner, Comcast, or anyone else suggests that these changes would hamper their ability to continue to bring high speed internet to as many people as possible.

Because if that was their interest they'd stop suing small municipalities for providing a better service for cheaper.

They just want to make more money. That's all this is about. I wish people would figure that out. They've literally decided that spending millions in lobbying and buying votes to outlaw competition would net them more money than trying to compete with them.

It'd be one thing if we had the best internet int he world, but we don't. In fact.. we're significantly worse off than other areas from a price-to-performance perspective. And when you factor in the numerous attempts to officially instate a 'Shutoff Switch', in addition to what the US Gov't is already doing, the idea that our internet access is less 'controlled' by Gov't forces than others is starting to become a fantasy..

We're paying top dollar for a lesser product. This is becoming a theme in this country...

[tshile]

to piggy back off that post...

Municipal Broadband Roadblocks | Broadband Now

[Dirtbag59]

Lol, Comcast.

Comcast 'Embarrassed' By The Service Call Making Internet Rounds : All Tech Considered : NPR

"The representative (name redacted) continued aggressively repeating his questions, despite the answers given, to the point where my wife became so visibly upset she handed me the phone. ...
"This recording picks up roughly 10 minutes into the call, whereby she and I have already played along and given a myriad of reasons and explanations as to why we are canceling (which is why I simply stopped answering the rep's repeated question — it was clear the only sufficient answer was 'Okay, please don't disconnect our service after all')."

Comcast customer service: An employee explains why they won't let you cancel your service.

When you call in to disconnect, you get routed to the Retention department; their job is to try to keep you. The guy on the phone is a Retention Specialist (which is just a Customer Account Executive who takes primarily calls from people disconnecting their service).

If I was reviewing this guy's calls I'd agree that this is an example of going a little too hard at it, but here's the deal (and this is not saying they're doing the right thing, this is just how it works). First of all these guys have a low hourly rate. In the states I've worked in they start at about 10.50-12$/hr. The actual money that they make comes from their metrics for the month, which depends on the department they're in. In sales this is obvious: the more sales you make the better you do.

In retention, the more products you save per customer the better you do, and the more products you disconnect the worst you do (if a customer with a triple play disconnects, you get hit as losing every one of those lines of business, not just losing one customer). These guys fight tooth and nail to keep every customer because if they don't meet their numbers they don't get paid.

Comcast uses "gates" for their incentive pay, which means that if you fall below a certain threshold (which tend to be stretch goals in the first place) then instead of getting a reduced amount, you get 0$. Let's say that if you retain 85% of your customers or more (this means 85% of the lines of businesses that customers have when they talk to you, they still have after they talk to you), you get 100% of your payout—which might be 5-10$ per line of business. At 80% you might only get 75% of your payout, and at 75% you get nothing.

The CAEs (customer service reps) watch these numbers daily, and will fight tooth and nail to stay above the "I get nothing" number. This guy went too far; you're not supposed to flat out argue with them. But Comcast literally provides an incentive for this kind of behavior. It's the same reason people's bills are always fucked up: people stuffing them with things they don't need or in some cases don't even agree to.

[tshile]

and they wonder why they continually have among the worst customer satisfaction and support reviews in the country.

they were forced to try to rebrand their services because of it...

In 2004 and 2007, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey found that Comcast had the worst customer satisfaction rating of any company or government agency in the country, including the Internal Revenue Service.

Comcast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And this isn't an old issue either... just 3 months ago...

Congratulations To Comcast, Your 2014 Worst Company In America! – Consumerist

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by tshile

and they wonder why they continually have among the worst customer satisfaction and support reviews in the country.

they were forced to try to rebrand their services because of it...


Comcast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And this isn't an old issue either... just 3 months ago...

Congratulations To Comcast, Your 2014 Worst Company In America! – Consumerist

You want irony?

Exclusive - Comcast nears deal to stream EA games to TVs: sources | Reuters

Last 5 Consumerist Worst Company in America Winners

2010 - Comcast
2011 - BP (Comcast 'won' third place)
2012 - EA
2013 - EA
2014 - Comcast

Another fun fact about 2011 for Comcast
Comcast Begs Employees To Vote For Charter In Worst Company In America Poll – Consumerist

[tshile]

We're ragging on comcast pretty hard, but as someone with lots of experience with many telecoms and ISPs... they're not alone. They may be the worst, but not by much.

AT&T, Time Warner, Verizon, Comcast... they're all an awful mess to deal with and the problems are almost exclusive related to their business models and the lack of competition in the field.

They treat their techs like crap - often making them contractors so they can easily dump them without ramifications when business is slow and make quick hires to fill needs when business picks up. This creates a system of extremes where you have a few good, qualified techs that have been there a while and only stick around because they have enough seniority to weather the cyclical layoffs, but otherwise they are staffed by inexperienced/low quality workers because after 6 months on the job most say screw this and go find a better gig. At least the good ones do.

The number of migrations I've done where it takes 3-6 months to get a new line/service to a business simply because the ISP drops the ball in terms of communication and following through on their end is absurd. They can get away with it because they *all* do it.

It's a complete mess. If you were to start a company that was oriented around speedy and high quality customer service with reliable and fast connections to the internet you'd quickly dominate the market.

But try starting an ISP and let me know how it goes

[Chico23231]

How to Yell at the FCC About How Much You Hate Its Net Neutrality Rules

dont know if this has been posted

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

How to Yell at the FCC About How Much You Hate Its Net Neutrality Rules

dont know if this has been posted

I'm not totally sure if its valid anymore. As far as I know the comments are technically suppose to be closed, however in looking at the FCC website issue 14-28 is still on the books with a link to file comments so if anyone still hasn't filed might as well try.

Of course you can still comment on the upcoming Comcast-Time Warner merger

Sadly I don't think the comments themselves matter so much as the final number. The FCC Comment counter might as well serve as a petition.

Originally Posted by tshile

But try starting an ISP and let me know how it goes

Day 1 - Started my new ISP. Real excited.

Day 2 - Dealing with local gov for necessary permits for approval.

Day 45 - Still Waiting for approval. Still only eating ramen.

Day 340 - Finally got approval. Getting ready to put fiber in the ground

Day 341 - Got served with notices from Comcast. No idea what lawsuit is about in spite of having read through it 34 times already. Local gov temporarily revoked my permits. Said they had to look into something first.

Day 345 - Local city council member accused me of eating puppies and kittens in spite of the fact that these days I can only afford Ramen noodles. Claims we need ethical companies like Comcast to provide internet, not heathens such as myself. I was also referred to as a socialist and a job killer.

Day 360 - Local newspaper somehow obtained picture of me passed out in college with genitals drawn onto my face with permanent marker. Headline read 'Junkie tries to start ISP in hopes of collecting peoples personal information.' How did anyone get a picture of me from 1976?

Day 688 - My lawyer asked for an extension regarding the Comcast lawsuit. After the judge dismissed us he winked at the Comcast lawyer and seemed to mouth the words 'Free HBO'. Not sure what to think of that. I've been to the courthouse so many times the security people that pat me down know my first, middle, and last name.

Day 700 - Police came to my door last night. Told me I needed to come with them and that they had a warrant for my arrest. Officers were kind enough to let me grab my diary so I could write about the experience. Was brought to a prison featuring a giant Comcast logo out front. No idea whats going on at this point.

Day 701 - My cell mates name is Scott. Apparently he was placed here a while after trying to install his own T1 connection. Nice guy. Still don't know why I'm here though. Haven't even gotten my phone call.

Day 735 - Up to this point I haven't seen my lawyer or a judge for that matter. The guards have us pass time during the day by watching Hulu. Of course the connection is so bad we have to refresh most of the time meaning we pretty much just watch ads all day. Guards don't even let us pick the ad we want to watch.

Day 741 - Before lights out a nurse came around to all the cells to give us vacations. I got my tetanus shot last year but apparently I needed another dose because of a newly discovered super tetanus.

Day 742 - I heard a whistle blower who tried to escape from Comcast was shot last night. My entire body feels burning and itchy at night. When I was scratching the swelling on my arms, a lump of rotten flesh dropped off. What the hell is happening to me?

Day 848 - Fever gone but itchy. Hungry and eat doggy food. Itchy Itchy Scott came. Ugly face so killed him. Tasty.

Day 850 - 4 Itchy Tasty