After weeks, nay, months of speculation, they announced it today:

http://www.wired.com...-net-neutrality

Now, we will get to watch immense efforts to sabotage this...

Considering the jobs that the people who run the FCC used to have, I'm sure companies like Comcast aren't scared.

Considering the jobs that the people who run the FCC used to have, I'm sure companies like Comcast aren't scared.

Well, this will be a test to see if we have a meaningful democracy left...

This means my Netflix will stream faster, right?

This means my Netflix will stream faster, right?

No, it means they can't do anything to make it stream slower...

Plus, they just changed the def of broadband, so nobody can call what they're selling you broadband unless it's more than 6x faster than what the def used to require... used to be 4 Mbps, now it's 25 Mbps... which means 25 is the new normal... which in turn means a few bucks extra will get you 50...

Considering the jobs that the people who run the FCC used to have, I'm sure companies like Comcast aren't scared.

Wheeler is one of those guys, and a lot of people didn't think he would come close to doing this. So at least it suggests someone who was an executive at a telecom might actually have a soul.

Wheeler is one of those guys, and a lot of people didn't think he would come close to doing this. So at least it suggests someone who was an executive at a telecom might actually have a soul.

That used  to be a pretty normal trait... only lately has it become rarer than hens teeth...

As for Wheeler... first he was gonna give the cable companies what they wanted... until 4+ million people left negative messages on the FCC web site and crashed it... then he was gonna do his two-tiered "separate but equal... but those who pay can be more equal than others"... until the Prez came out last fall and said he wanted the FCC to do the right thing for American citizens and not allow the kind of things Wheeler wanted to allow... then, after that, he appears to have not-so-suddenly seen the light... apparently....we can hope...

Gizmodo: Did the Internet Win Yet? No. But Here's What We Got.

Read earlier that this can be looked at as a bit of a power (influence) shift from the telcos to Silicon Valley (who have the money to hire good lobbyists now). Either way, an open internet is good for innovation and competition. Hope this comes to fruition.

Gizmodo: Did the Internet Win Yet? No. But Here's What We Got.

Good article...

FCC's Net neutrality rules wins big in appeals court

The Federal Communications Commission has won a major victory in its decade-long battle to keep the internet open.

In a ruling issued Tuesday, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the rules the agency imposed in February 2015.

 

The decision confirms the FCC's contention that it has the authority to place broadband providers under some of the same strict regulations that have governed telephone networks for more than 80 years. The appeals court ruling could be the last word in a high-stakes argument over the business side of the Internet, but the broadband and wireless industries will likely look for cracks in the decision that they may use in an appeal to the US Supreme Court.

http://www.cnet.com/...linkId=25528911

Damn

https://www.washingt...m=.62a925b48b74

Not surprising, but both unfortunate and infuriating just the same. A part of my livelihood is earned via content that is streamed on the internet, so this hits really close to home.

Not surprising, but both unfortunate and infuriating just the same. A part of my livelihood is earned via content that is streamed on the internet, so this hits really close to home.

Just the worst. 

I assume this is right around the corner:

I don't see BSL in the extras anywhere. I guess that means once we use our 500Mb we'll have to post here at dial-up speeds. Those of you who are long-winded (looking at you, RShack) will be waiting a long time.

In all seriousness though, this has me very worried, and not just about my own future.

That sucks.

Half the news stories I click on nowadays are behind a paywall so if this somehow got rid of those, I guess I could live with it.

That sucks.

 

Half the news stories I click on nowadays are behind a paywall so if this somehow got rid of those, I guess I could live with it.

The paywalls are a different thing totally. The subscription money goes to the news site to pay the people who produce the content, so that is unlikely to change.

The end of net neutrality means your internet provider can essentially determine what content you can and can't access by slowing down the loading speed of sites that don't pay them to the point you don't even want to bother (it'll be reminiscent of the old dial-up days when it took several minutes to download a news page that had a photo on it). But you'll be able to access the content they own and operate just fine....so if you have Verizon you can still get your news from Yahoo, or if you have Comcast you can get it from NBC. Problem with that is obvious, when you only have one source for information you aren't always getting the whole story.

Chris, about that graphic you posted....it might not be far away from reality at all. Saw this just a little while ago about Portugal. They have no net neutrality rules (the EU does have one, but there are enough loopholes in it that telecom providers can get around them if a particular country has loose enough restrictions).

Business Insider: If you want to see what America would be like if it ditched net neutrality, just look at Portugal