posted by justincredible
This was the best argument I've seen made from either side of the Net Neutrality debate:
https://stratechery.com/2017/pro-neutrality-anti-title-ii/
Most pro-NN arguments I've seen were of the "what if" and "so you would rather" variety. I also saw a great image showing a potential "threat" to your internet bill where you paid $X for a social media tier, $X for a gaming tier, $X for email, and so on. And the pro-NN part of the image had one easy price with everything included in it. The funny thing was, all of the tiers added up to less than the single price. And, why should my grandma subsidize your gaming by paying the same rate as a gamer while using a lot less bandwidth?
Look at cellular sevice. Nothing like net neutrality in that space, and if there were there is an argument that T-Mobile's zero-rating system for certain services would have been blocked. "Gasp! You can't priorotize one service over another, it's not fair!" Luckily they weren't blocked and have been able to innovate in that space. It's forcing the other carriers to compete to keep up. Now most, if not all, are once again offering unlimited plans which had gone away before T-Mobile started to shake the industry up.
Hey, and maybe I'm wrong. I question my views on this constantly, but I just haven't found a compelling argument that leads me to believe the internet is going to end up in shambles after this repeal. Now, go ahead and call me moron, idiot, etc, because that seems to be the norm on Facebook and twitter comment threads when someone tries to make the argument that repealing NN isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Do people not remember when we had to pay per the hour for dial-up internet? There was also a time where you had to choose between paying for shitty slow ass dial up internet vs paying a major premium to have cable internet. I remember how cool it was when some of my friends had cable modem internet. Now everyone has fast internet and it is/was getting faster, because companies kept investing money into broadband services. Btw, the data shows that companies started to invest less into broadband services after net neutrality. I don't blame them, why the fuck do they need to invest to improve their service when the Government created a minimum standard that will prevent potential businsses from penetrating the market? Only the government would think a service that has thrived without barriers all of a sudden needs barriers, because they "see" an issue. Btw, that issue was caused by federal, state, and local Government meddling into something they had no business meddling in. Google Fiber would be well on it's way to providing FREE internet to everyone in this country without the Government getting invovled. Austin, TX is thriving in terms of ISPs, because of Google Fiber penetrating the market. Not only do they have Google Fiber, but Austin now has a bunch of smaller ISPs that try and offer internet that is faster than Google Fiber for a relatively cheap price. Do you think any of these ISPs are dumb enough to charge your per content?
Most of the crying I see on Facebook comes down to "i have to pay moar for muh netflix and facebook!"
1. You have to lol at the irony of people crying on a FREE service, that thrived due to the advances of internet technology.
2. I sometimes wonder if this country actually has real problems. People are crying over paying more for a luxury. Think about that shit.
3. It shouldn't shock me with our current climate, but it never ceases to amaze me how people are so damn uncomfortable to live without their little safety net from the Government. This is not a life or death matter. Maybe we will go throw a temporary growing pains period, but eventually some business is going to figure it out and force the other businesses to get in line if they want to make a profit. If anything you should contact your representatives to bitch about the mess they created and tell them to eliminate those barriers that created the mess. This is a much better option than advocating for more Government to solve an issue that was created by the Government.
Edit: I predict either 0 of the predictions from the "sky is falling" people happen, or we will see people freak out the first sign a cable company packages their internet (growing pains) and then 2-4 years later everyone will realize it was a nothing burger when competition forces that company back in line.
