To be fair, his time on the "other side" was spent working with smaller cable companies, and wireless companies BEFORE they were the giants of today. Many consumer advocates had made this point during his appointment, but I couldn't see through my cynical shades to acknowledge that was a good point. Of course I had to go back and put money on it, I probably would still probably not take those odds.
Re: I haven't seen what's in each Channel Pack option
I'm still reading the fine print and asking questions of users that sign up for it, but I believe Verizon is including the HD versions of the channels without the historically obnoxious "HD fee."
"At least it's some form of internet and seeing it might give local entrepreneurs ideas for competing and offering REAL internet."
Except that those local entrepreneurs would be at an immediate advantage if they can't afford to pay Facebook for honorary, cap-exempt status. So they might have the idea, but the implementation would be hamstrung by a totally broken and closed content market and ecosystem.
Yep. They lobbied the ITU to effectively change the definition of 4G to technically mean anything short of cans and string. I believe they can even argue 2G speed connections around 256 kbps are "4G." It's kind of meaningless, as was the White House's proclamation that it helped drive 4G networks to 98% of the public.
Five years ago, there was a big push by consumers and regulators to force many of the telcos to offer "naked" DSL, so there was a notable uptick. AT&T had to adhere to it as a BellSouth merger condition. But over the last few years they've all shifted back to forcing people to bundle the landline, and regulators no longer seem to care.
They usuaully offer up all kinds of ridiculous justifications for why. One telco claimed that if they weren't allowed to offer voice over copper those lines would "oxidize and fail."
They're both comparably bad. Fairpoint may be a little worse in that it struggled through bankruptcy and is a tad smaller. But I'd avoid both. Most of those second tier telcos have a near-disdain for their subscribers.
Yes they're forcing a lot of people with no options to take a vanilla landline as well, turning what should be a $40 DSL line into a $90-$110 price tag in some areas. A friend in upstate NY has to pay nearly $100 a month for 3 Mbps DSL.
Part of the need to thrill Wall Street with better quarter over quarter returns, which almost always results in a decline in quality. Certainly the case for somebody like Comcast (customer service).
"It really bothers me when tech sites blame AT&T for not maintaining an outdated service."
It really bothers me when people don't read the article. AT&T's not only refusing to upgrade lines, they're actively trying to drive away paying DSL customers, and they're lobbying for state laws preventing those same individuals from supporting community networks.
On the post: Latest Pointless Moral Panic: Minecraft Is Ruining Our Children
Re: New Normal
On the post: Dear Tom Wheeler: I'm Sorry I Thought You Were A Mindless Cable Shill
Re: Re:
On the post: Dear Tom Wheeler: I'm Sorry I Thought You Were A Mindless Cable Shill
Re: Awesome Karl but... not just no, but HELL NO!
On the post: Dear Tom Wheeler: I'm Sorry I Thought You Were A Mindless Cable Shill
Re: Re: Re: Kudos, but...
https://www.techdirt.com/blog/netneutrality/articles/20150210/10270429976/latest-congression al-attempt-to-kill-neutrality-rules-involves-two-flimsy-investigations-sudden-breathless-adoration.s html
And while political pressure still may have played a role, that political pressure was the result of grass roots outrage.
On the post: Blistering Hubris, Bald-Faced Lies And Atrocious Customer Service Kill Comcast's Merger Ambitions Dead
Re: Re:
On the post: Verizon Responds To Internet Video Competition With More Flexible Cable TV Packages, ESPN Immediately Whines
Re: I haven't seen what's in each Channel Pack option
On the post: Facebook's Zuckerberg Thinks Aggressively Violating Net Neutrality Is Fine...If You Just Mean Well
Re: No Net Neutrality!
Except that those local entrepreneurs would be at an immediate advantage if they can't afford to pay Facebook for honorary, cap-exempt status. So they might have the idea, but the implementation would be hamstrung by a totally broken and closed content market and ecosystem.
On the post: Facebook's Zuckerberg Thinks Aggressively Violating Net Neutrality Is Fine...If You Just Mean Well
Re: Re: Re: They always think that
On the post: Facebook's Zuckerberg Thinks Aggressively Violating Net Neutrality Is Fine...If You Just Mean Well
Re: They always think that
On the post: Verizon: Nobody Really Wants Unlimited Data Plans, And Those Who Do Should Ignore Such Silly 'Gut Feelings'
Re: You just re-wrote Verizon's position! Traffic can't actually be unlimited.
On the post: Wireless, Cable Industries Show Their Love Of An 'Open Internet' By Suing To Overturn Net Neutrality Rules
Re: Re: It's still 4G? To whom?
On the post: The Mere Threat Of Google Fiber Has Time Warner Cable Offering Speeds Six Times Faster At The Same Price
Re:
On the post: One ISP's Prices Are So Bad, It Refuses To Tell Anyone What They Are
Re: Re: Re: The only reason
They usuaully offer up all kinds of ridiculous justifications for why. One telco claimed that if they weren't allowed to offer voice over copper those lines would "oxidize and fail."
On the post: One ISP's Prices Are So Bad, It Refuses To Tell Anyone What They Are
Re: Huh
They're both comparably bad. Fairpoint may be a little worse in that it struggled through bankruptcy and is a tad smaller. But I'd avoid both. Most of those second tier telcos have a near-disdain for their subscribers.
On the post: One ISP's Prices Are So Bad, It Refuses To Tell Anyone What They Are
Re: The only reason
On the post: One ISP's Prices Are So Bad, It Refuses To Tell Anyone What They Are
Re:
On the post: Weather Channel Tackles Criticism For Airing Too Much Fluff, With New Ads Attacking Competitors For Airing Too Much Fluff
Re: Re:
On the post: Two And A Half Years Later, Verizon Finally Lets People Opt Out Of Its Stealth Zombie Cookie
Re: They changed the Privacy Policy Opt-Out page.
On the post: AT&T's Title II Tap Dance Fails To Derail FTC Throttling Lawsuit
Re: Is that the right metric?
On the post: AT&T Publicly Promises Tennessee A Broadband Revolution, Privately Fights To Keep It A Broadband Backwater
Re: We don't need DSL anyways
It really bothers me when people don't read the article. AT&T's not only refusing to upgrade lines, they're actively trying to drive away paying DSL customers, and they're lobbying for state laws preventing those same individuals from supporting community networks.
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