Net Neutrality

Without Net Neutrality, your favorite web sites might become unpredictably difficult to access, slow and unresponsive while your ISP makes you wait and watch the ads from which they make the most $.






Sort of like the entire web turned into a random visit to PriusChat . . .

 

If you are in favor of Net Neutrality, I encourage you to take a look at the comments on posts about net neutrality on Rush Limbaugh's Facebook page.

You will find many folks there with opinions different than your own, since many there are against Net Neutrality.

It is an interesting read.

The comments often express a fear that Net Neutrality is a case of big government controlling the internet. Looking over your shoulder. Not sure how else to summarize it.

 

doesn't government control the internet? pretty sure they make all the rules and prohibit competition.

 

The "Internet" is one of several wide-area, packet switched network architectures. X.25 is another one which I used at one point in my career.

 

Not heard of fake news, I take it? A high official has been citing fake video's created by hard right-wing political assassin's in UK. Biter bitten, I'd say!

 

I put this out there as a way to expand the discussion and have insight into an opposing view point, even if one does not agree with it.
It's so easy to get stuck in our own echo chambers sometimes.

Of course so many things on the internet are hyper-polarized, so then it's hard to have a rational discussion.
Too bad. Would be interesting to have civil, in person discussions of such topics.

 

Sorry! Didn't mean to rock your boat, but this is quite obviously a binary choice. I consider myself to be civil at all times on here, but reserve the right (?) to state my personal perceptions as I respect your right to the same. If I gave offence, please accept my apology with the rider that it was unintentional.

 

thanks, can you explain in regard to my question? does the government make the rules, or do they not? do they collect taxes on internet services? do they allow anyone to be an isp if they desire? or is some other entity controlling everything?

 

No government controls the internet, although they all wish they could!
Some states on the east Pacific rim censure it to control what their people can and can't see. Meanwhile, here in the West, our governments secretly envy them whilst at the same time publicly condemning them for it.

 

who runs it? who owns it? who maintains it? very confusing.

 

ICANN, a nonprofit organization controls the internet. There's a good Wiki article which explains most of what you're asking.

 

ICANN coordinates the names on the Internet .
Private companies provide the backbone networks for the Internet.
They negotiate peering agreements for data transfer from one provider to another. They use standard protocols so everybody "speaks the same data language". (TCP/IP & BGP for routing)

 

so the government is not involved?

 

Simply speaking, no, they're not controlling it.

 

why then, when verizon wanted to install cable in my town, did they have to go through the board of select persons?
where do all the taxes go on my bill?

 

That's better explained by someone in USA. Not an old fart in Cornwall !!!

 

In the beginning, there was ARPA. They had many tools and things they wanted, and needed to connect some universities. An engineering firm called BBN built a network, and it was good. Let there be ARPANET!, they said.

And that was the beginning of what is now the internet...

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Wow, Genesis!!

 

That was for the installation of cable. Unfortunately Verizon & the other phone carriers have some sort of contract barring most local governments from installing their own fiber network to become a lower cost ISP.

 

The government is more deeply involved than one might imagine, and one needs to remember that much of the internet "backbone" is built within, or atop the old PSTN or "telephone" network, which is deeply regulated.

I got my start in 'Big Phone' because of something called the USF....or......Universal Service Fund - Wikipedia.
If you think that this fund applies just to POTS (plain old telephone service) then you're underestimating one of the most powerful forces in the natural world, which is the ability of a government program to grow geometrically.

It's a VERY complicated issue, and those who believe that ISP's are salivating at the prospect of raising toll bridges or knocking their customers on the head for increased fees to watch domestic violence offenders and sexual predators act out on TV might be giving dot.gov more credit than is warranted if one believes that they can actually HELP.

Markets respond.....which is why in the last two years, and probably for the next several years "cord cutting" is going to be something that one hears more and more about outside of hospital maternity departments.