Net Neutrality / Internet Throttling Debate

[afransen]

^ That's why I'm hesitant to invest in Rogers/Bell/Telus. If I wanted to invest in a utility, I'd find it much easier to invest in pipelines, electricity, etc. The telcos are about the experience a whole lot of margin compression.

RIM will be fine, though. They may have to tweak their business model, but they add enough value. Bell/Rogers/Telus are just pipes.

 

[w.ll.am]

From my understanding bell makes most of it's money off of business lines. That's why they could give 2 figs about the normal consumer. This is odd to me though as some of those consumers work for businesses that have to make decisions about phone connections, internet, etc. If you created conflict with me as a base consumer I'm not going to pick you as my first option. Which makes me wonder if there are any real options for businesses to turn to other than bell.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

If I'm Rogers or Bell I'm scared that their entire empire's will have all but crumbled away in 5-10 years. Eventually the GTA will be blanketed by cheap or free wi-fi services that work everywhere in the city and probably the province.

Then you'll have a scary situation as skype-capable phones will be common place. Imagine if your cell phone could connect to wi-fi, allow you to surf the internet without ridiculous data charges... and make and receive phone calls.. from ANYWHERE? It's coming... just a matter of when. All that investment in cell-phone infastructure... gone, rendered obsolete. Of course then it's just a matter of time before mp3 players and other electronics become wi-fi/skype capable and the entire cell phone industry has been turned on its head. You don't think this isn't being discussed in the backrooms of Rogers and Bell and so forth? A company like RIM could probably more than survive such a dramatic shift, but Bell and Rogers are the ones who truly stand to lose from such a shift.

It's here. If you jailbreak your iPhone there's a free Skype app. which does that and you can use WiFi. Free to call anywhere in the world, but I think the limit is one hour. So you disconnect as the hour approaches and call back if you have more to talk about.

 

[afransen]

From my understanding bell makes most of it's money off of business lines. That's why they could give 2 figs about the normal consumer. This is odd to me though as some of those consumers work for businesses that have to make decisions about phone connections, internet, etc. If you created conflict with me as a base consumer I'm not going to pick you as my first option. Which makes me wonder if there are any real options for businesses to turn to other than bell.

Businesses are increasingly using VOIP telephony... then it comes down to Bell or any other ISP just being a dumb pipe. Now, servicing those internal voice networks might be a lucrative business (it seems to be for whomever my employer uses--they are loath to move people around due to cost of moving your extension).

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Rumour posted on Wired.
I love my 2G iPod Touch so this is very exciting to me


Apple Preparing iPod Touch With Camera, Microphone: Source

By Eliot Van Buskirk July 20, 2009 | 5:45 pm |

Rumors have swirled about Apple readying a new version of the iPod Touch with a camera and microphone, which, combined with a Skype account, would pretty much obviate the need for a home phone line once and for all.

A well-connected source tells us those rumors are on the money, and that Apple’s factories in China are already manufacturing iPod Touch models with integrated cameras and microphones. An Apple spokesman declined to comment when reached by phone.

If iPod Touches with cameras and microphones go on sale “in two to three months,†as our source expects them to (and which corresponds with our expected timeframe), they will transform the entertainment-oriented iPod Touch line into a voice communications tool wherever WiFi is available.

In addition to these voice-over-IP capabilities, which should have telephone providers quaking in their boots, the microphone (and camera) would enable the iPod Touch to understand voice commands, capture video and images, and work with a wider variety of programs in the App Store.

(Plus, as some Wired commenters have suggested, one could combine a microphone-equipped iPod Touch with the Verizon MiFi personal hotspot creator to enable — at long last — the iPhone experience on Verizon’s network.)

 

[doady]

Actually, my home phone uses my cable internet connection, so Bell's phone service is kind of obselete already.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

The Conglomerates Win Again

I was just catching up on The National and caught this piece but I was unclear as to exactly what the ruling was. The article below clarifies it. Yesterday the CRTC ruled that the big boys can throttle and manage our Internet traffic.
Stupid me, I really thought there would be a fair, workable ruling in this case.

Big Internet carriers win right to manage traffic

 

[khris]

I'm really not happy about their decision. I don't think it is right that my ISP can choose what speeds I can download/upload at depending on what I'm using my connection for. They're supposed to be providing me a service to connect to the internet at a specific speed I choose, at a price I choose, and that's all. The fact that the CRTC thinks it is fair what they are doing is just proof that they are a bunch of idiots who have no interest in protecting the consumer, only putting more money in corporations hands.

 

[Chinese Jamaican Bloke]

Wow. Well then, hopefully somebody will come around and start offering high speed internet in this country. I'm so glad I'm with Telus, and that they've actually chosen to invest in infrastructure rather than try to force people to use the Internet like it's 1998. Our regulators are an absolute joke.

Not to mention cell phones. They're more expensive now than they were five years ago!

cell phones are more "expensive" because more people are buying smart phones with features and using them like a PC, which makes them more expensive There are cheaper phones and plans available like a pay and talk plan which i use

 

[Roy G Biv]

cell phones are more "expensive" because more people are buying smart phones with features and using them like a PC, which makes them more expensive There are cheaper phones and plans available like a pay and talk plan which i use

TV's and desktop computers grow more and more complex every year, yet they seem to get cheaper...

Bell and Rogers have a stranglehold on our market. There's no other way to explain how they are loathed by all Canadians, yet remain very, very successful companies.

 

[wonderboy416]

I was just catching up on The National and caught this piece but I was unclear as to exactly what the ruling was. The article below clarifies it. Yesterday the CRTC ruled that the big boys can throttle and manage our Internet traffic.
Stupid me, I really thought there would be a fair, workable ruling in this case.

Big Internet carriers win right to manage traffic

What a crushing blow to the Canadian consumer. Even US regulators are going the other way on this. The CRTC is there to maximize revenues for the big telcos, protect their interests and nothing more.

What's troubling is how much they are getting away with.
I just hope that some of these new cell phone carriers can also unroll internet service.

Every single thing Rogers and Bell does is to pad their own bank accounts, I'm not sure if Telus is the same but I can't imagine them being much different. I'm so glad I'm returning with a quad band, wifi enabled, dual-sim unlocked phone so I won't get sucked into any expensive data plans from Rogers when I get back.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

About four months ago I upgraded to Sympatico's "Max 12" services which, in part, gives me 12MB download/1MB upload speeds and 100GB month of data transfers. About a month ago I noticed that they downgraded data transfers to 60GB/month, today I see it's been lowered again to 50GB/month. I don't have a contract so I presume that my services are grandfathered. In this day in age with YouTube, PS3/XBox online gaming, TV on demand, iTunes downloads plus regular web browsing I truly question if the average PC/Mac family with 2 or more PC's/laptops safely get by with 50GB? My roommate and I are above average Internet users and even with 100GB we're getting 50% data usage emails two weeks into the billing month.

In related news, it appears that the US is going in a similar direction but with strong opposition:

http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed7/idUS348124681720091022

 

[doady]

Thank to internet message boards and web-based firesharing sites like Rapidshare, Uploaded.to, Megaupload, etc., I don't have to worry about bandwidth throttling anymore. And the fact that authorities can't track uploads/downloads to/from these sites is a bonus.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Thank to internet message boards and web-based firesharing sites like Rapidshare, Uploaded.to, Megaupload, etc., I don't have to worry about bandwidth throttling anymore. And the fact that authorities can't track uploads/downloads to/from these sites is a bonus.

But your speed is still throttled during prime time

 

[doady]

As far I know, Rogers throttling is constant throughout the whole day. It is never turned off or reduced at any time, as far as I can see. And the throttling is only applied to P2P uploads (around 6 kb/s maximum!). I have never notice any throttling for other things.