Network Neutrality Follow-up
Three years ago, America was locked in a battle for #NetNeutrality, and, by extension, life as we knew it.
For the lucky few who survived, I invite you to join me on a quick stroll down memory lane to revisit the doom and gloom we were promised.
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It’s worth pausing here to point out that none of this came to pass. The internet remains as free and open as ever, speeds have increased, prices have dropped, you aren’t paying to use Google (I hope!) and there hasn’t been one iota of accountability despite all that.
My Comcast rate increased, but I didn’t personally notice any other negative changes (or benefits).
FairInternetReport (Hacker News):
American internet users have had a very good 2020: according to research performed by FairInternetReport, median US internet speeds in 2020 doubled to 33.16mbps, up from 17.34mbps in 2019. Covering the five years of 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, this is the largest speed increase seen in the US, with speeds staying essentially the same in 2016 and 2017 (8.91mbps and 9.08mbps respectively), and 2018 recording a median speed of 12.83mbps.
The US stills lags behind many European and developed nations worldwide, and its major cities also often lag behind their European equivalents. That said, there is cause for celebration in Dallas, Seattle and Austin, after our analysis has shown that these cities are performing extremely well relative to most European capital cities.
It is an unfortunately common myth that the primary issue of net neutrality is internet speed in pure terms. That has been widely promoted — Twitter still has a
#NetNeutralityhashflag marked by a buffering indicator — but it lacks key context. The actual concern is that internet service providers are in a position to influence winners and losers by acting less like the utility providers they are and more like an intermediate market gatekeeper.But let us pretend that pure measurements of internet speed are what net neutrality protects. This report shows a massive spike in average internet speed — a bigger jump than any previous year. Is that because providers have invested in infrastructure? Capital expenditures were the primary reason Ajit Pai cited for eradicating net neutrality regulations enacted by the previous Tom Wheeler-led FCC. Well, no.
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This report does not prove that net neutrality regulations were a waste of time, or that getting rid of them is somehow beneficial. It only shows is that people bought faster internet service when they needed it.
Ashley Carman (via Nilay Patel):
If you’re a Comcast TV and internet user, prepare for price hikes. The company is planning to increase the prices of a variety of services starting January 1st, 2021, according to Ars Technica and a document detailing the various price increases being shared on Reddit.
Previously:
- Can U.S. States Hang on to Net Neutrality?
- The Mystery of the Slow Downloads
- Network Neutrality, Ajit Pai, and Title II
2 Comments RSS · Twitter
"The actual concern is that internet service providers are in a position to influence winners and losers by acting less like the utility providers they are and more like an intermediate market gatekeeper."
It seems that Google, Amazon, etc want to be our intermediate market gatekeepers instead.
I was always against NN because I never wanted government control of the internet. At least the way the FCC did it originally, they picked a law but said they wouldn't exercise all the control - as if that would bind future governments.
We are better off with the government out of the internet.