FCC Repeals "Net Neutrality" Laws

[deanwebb]

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/12/14/net_neutrality_vote_great/

BTW, it's possible to get an even BIGGER coffee mug than what Ajit Pai had:



Another, less snarky link: https://www.vox.com/2017/12/14/16774148/net-neutrality-repeal-explained

The upshot is that ISPs can introduce tiered service. ISPs can also restrict access to web sites and/or place them in tiered packages. Basic internet? OK, no access to huge bandwidth hogs like YouTube, FaceBook, and Netflix. And zero torrenting, either. Need one or more of those things? OK, *pay* for them.

Knowing the bandwidth those things can soak up, that ability to charge for going to those sites makes sense from an ISP perspective.

Corporate usage would also benefit from that. The company could buy an Internet package that does not include any YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, torrenting, or streaming access. Now it's not the evil guys in charge of the proxy server blocking that content: it's that ISP upstream, which we have no control over because of this here contract, aw, shucks. 80%+ of most companies' Internet usage is on social media stuff that has zero business use. Cut that traffic out and then they can go with smaller pipes everywhere. That may not be the ISP's intention, though, since smaller pipes means less revenue... and if the rates for smaller pipes go up too much, then newspapers and broadcast television do a little dance as subscribers/viewers return to their content.

I remember the Internet of 1995... and how everyone still subscribed to newspapers and magazines because speeds were so dang slow, you didn't *want* the Internet to be a prime source of news. Removal of net neutrality does point back in that direction for a big chunk of people, so ISPs will want to be careful with their exploitation of the new rules so that they don't kill off their golden goose.

Another possible knock-on would be more suspicion of working from home. If the corporate Internet is free of most productivity sinks, but the home worker can have access to them, are the motives of the home worker entirely honest?

I admit that I don't work all the way through the day, every day. I work and take breaks in spurts, but for the most part I work all day and sometimes longer. I'm more flexible with demands to start early or end later when I work from home because I can take extended breaks in the middle of the day to compensate. In the office, it's usually illegal to schedule employees for a 4-hour stint in the early morning, then tell them to take a 3-hour lunch before starting the evening stint. But, if I work from home, I can do just that. If I watch YouTube as I take a 3-hour lunch break, that's my business - and studies have shown that breaks like that are good for the business' business, as well.

At any rate, this repeal of Net Neutrality places US ISPs in the same position as the Turkish, Iranian, Chinese, and North Korean governments, to name a few. They're able to control content - all content. Most Internet traffic actually flows across the USA, so this has global implications. Combined with NSA penetration of US-made network gear, I'm wondering if the ultimate result of this repeal of Net Neutrality will be to further balkanize the Internet, with nations insisting on building out their own gear, their own infrastructure, and their own content.

[icecream-guy]

it's usually illegal to schedule employees for a 4-hour stint in the early morning, then tell them to take a 3-hour lunch before starting the evening stint. But, if I work from home, I can do just that. If I watch YouTube as I take a 3-hour lunch break, that's my business - and studies have shown that breaks like that are good for the business' business, as well.

I thought that was a Europe thing.. open a few hours in the morning, take long lunch, and stay open late into evening.

"The typical Spanish working day tends to be from around 8.30am or 9am to around 1.30 pm and then from 4.30pm or 5pm to around 8pm. "

"The usual Italian business hours are from 8 or 9 A.M. to Noon or 1 P.M. and from 3 to 6 or 7 P.M."

not Europe
"In Mexico, the standard business hours are from 7 am to 2 pm and 4 pm to 6 pm."

[deanwebb]

In the USA, it's seen as a way to screw over hourly workers, putting them in only at peak times.

[icecream-guy]

In the USA, it's seen as a way to screw over hourly workers, putting them in only at peak times.

so that's why my core business hours are from 9AM to 3PM. which I must be on-site for.

[deanwebb]

In the USA, it's seen as a way to screw over hourly workers, putting them in only at peak times.

so that's why my core business hours are from 9AM to 3PM. which I must be on-site for.

You're East Coast. Central time workers get dragged in early to cover East Coast business start times and more Europe coverage and then stay late to cover California and early Asia times. Also, YMMV if you're in a USG contract.