Greg's Corner

Tagged: Comcast Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Geebo 10:12 am on November 29, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Comcast, ISPs ( 4 ), net neutrality ( 32 )   

  Is Comcast trying to sneak internet fast lanes past us? 

  

  With the imminent demise of net neutrality upon us, at least one internet provider may already be planning on how to cash in on net neutrality’s repeal. Comcast, the nation’s largest internet provider, has recently changed the verbage on its website when it comes to internet fast lanes. In theory, fast lanes would be prioritized internet traffic for customers or companies that pay higher fees to Comcast. Do you want to watch streaming video from Netflix, Hulu, or even YouTube? Do you wants to use BitTorrent to download large files? Too bad, unless you pay Comcast extra.

  On its website Comcast previously promised to keep a free an open internet. However, it recently, but subtly, reworded its previous promise to not instill fast lanes. According to Ars Technica…

  Comcast now vaguely says that it won’t “discriminate against lawful content” or impose “anti-competitive paid prioritization.”

  As the included video succinctly puts it, who decides what is lawful or anti-competitive? Comcast of course. And it’s not like there’s a whole lot of competition in the internet service market. In most locations in the country, you have a choice between two internet providers at the most. So ISPs aren’t the best sources to preach to consumers about anti-competitive practices.

  That’s not even taking into consideration that in order to speed up some tiers of traffic you have to slow others down. Will we soon be seeing reminders of the dial-up days? It sure looks that way.

   

  Leave a ReplyCancel reply
• 

  Geebo 4:03 pm on August 8, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Comcast, internet ( 9 ), ISPs ( 4 ), privacy ( 46 )   

  Comcast wants to charge for privacy 

  

  If there’s one inherent truth to the internet it’s that someone is selling your data. I’m not talking about malicious hackers selling your personal information to identity thieves, but the Facebooks and Googles who sell your browsing habits to advertisers. They do this, they say, in order to show you advertising tailored more to your likes. Now, one of the country’s largest internet providers wants to charge you extra to not sell your data.

  Comcast has petitioned the FCC to allow ISPs to charge their customers extra for not selling their browsing habits. If Comcast had its way the ISPs could charge you an extra fee to not sell your data to advertisers. That sounds a lot like a protection racket from an old black and white gangster movie with Comcast playing the heavy that says “That’s some real nice privacy you’ve got here. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.”

  What’s worse is that Comcast acts like they’re doing customers a favor…

  Comcast said in its filing that “such a prohibition would harm consumers by, among other things, depriving them of lower-priced offerings, and as FTC Commissioner [Maureen] Ohlhausen points out, ‘such a ban may prohibit ad-supported broadband services and thereby eliminate a way to increase broadband adoption.’

  What’s really depriving consumers of lower-priced offerings for broadband is the lack of competition between ISPs. In most markets you can either choose the cable company or the phone company for internet service. A duopoly doesn’t encourage much competition and without competition prices not only stagnate, but they tend to rise because who else are you going to use? If you’ve ever been in an area that offers the upstart Google Fiber you’ll see the incumbent providers start slashing their prices in order to compete.

  So instead of trying to extort customers over their privacy, maybe the ISPs should start offering better services in order to make more money.