So...Net Neutrality

[Grey Fox]

if the consumer is unlikely to be affected and corporations will earn more, then let's kill it. highlight and Backspace this and other regulations unless evidence establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that doing so will damn the consumer!

Losing Net Neutrality means losing the Internet & just getting another Cable network.

[Zanza]

The most profitable and innovative part of the US economy seems to be the Silicon Valley with its cloud services, be it Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft Azure etc. Those rely on net neutrality because they can only offer their services to private and business customers easily thanks to the open internet. And as the US market is the most profitable and most relevant in the world, it will hurt their future innovativeness if they have limitations there. I guess Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu will like it though...

[frunk]

The most profitable and innovative part of the US economy seems to be the Silicon Valley with its cloud services, be it Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft Azure etc. Those rely on net neutrality because they can only offer their services to private and business customers easily thanks to the open internet. And as the US market is the most profitable and most relevant in the world, it will hurt their future innovativeness if they have limitations there. I guess Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu will like it though...

The big companies will be able to cut deals, and it might hurt the bottom line a bit but likely will still do fine.  The pure bandwidth hogs like Netflix will probably get hammered.  The little companies that the big ones like to buy when they get successful will have a much harder time getting started though.

It's also possible that the big internet companies will start diversifying vertically, to buy up internet providers to gain control of the lines for their own advantage.

[Zanza]

The most profitable and innovative part of the US economy seems to be the Silicon Valley with its cloud services, be it Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft Azure etc. Those rely on net neutrality because they can only offer their services to private and business customers easily thanks to the open internet. And as the US market is the most profitable and most relevant in the world, it will hurt their future innovativeness if they have limitations there. I guess Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu will like it though...

The big companies will be able to cut deals, and it might hurt the bottom line a bit but likely will still do fine.  The pure bandwidth hogs like Netflix will probably get hammered.  The little companies that the big ones like to buy when they get successful will have a much harder time getting started though.

It's also possible that the big internet companies will start diversifying vertically, to buy up internet providers to gain control of the lines for their own advantage.

Yes, of course. That's what I really meant. The innovativeness of the Silicon Valley is that it jump starts small startups that can grow very big fast due to the openess of the internet. If they cannot reach their potential customers anymore, you'll not have success stories like Netflix anymore. You would instead have some kind of Comcast video-on-demand service...

[Grey Fox]

Netflix wouldn't be hurt so much. They are not centralized anymore(if they ever were). Got server boxes closer & closer to the local loop nowadays.

[CountDeMoney]

Netflix wouldn't be hurt so much. They are not centralized anymore(if they ever were). Got server boxes closer & closer to the local loop nowadays.

It would be the ISPs that would determine their net speeds. It would be Netflix customers that take the hit:  once for paying for premium "access speed", and again for the higher subscription rates Netflix would charge in order to mitigate the increased fees the ISPs would charge them for the luxury of using their pipes.

[Admiral Yi]

If providers could pay more for faster speed, could they also pay less for slower?

[viper37]

If providers could pay more for faster speed, could they also pay less for slower?

It is possible.  Netflix could pay Comcast so that they get better speed and Amazon Prime gets slower speed.
Once you remove the net neutrality rule, anything is possible, really.

Will it happen?  Doubtful.  Could it? Yes.

[Zanza]

If providers could pay more for faster speed, could they also pay less for slower?

Not really. The chokepoint is the last mile to the private customer. Netflix pays its internet service provider for the network connections to their network or maybe directly to the big internet exchange points. But from thereon its the open internet or the network of the internet service provider of the consumer of Netflix' service.

[CountDeMoney]

ISPs will bitch about the amount of bandwidth Netflix will suck up delivering to its customer base, and they will bill Netflix accordingly. 

[Barrister]

The most profitable and innovative part of the US economy seems to be the Silicon Valley with its cloud services, be it Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft Azure etc. Those rely on net neutrality because they can only offer their services to private and business customers easily thanks to the open internet. And as the US market is the most profitable and most relevant in the world, it will hurt their future innovativeness if they have limitations there. I guess Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu will like it though...

All of those companies will be fine - they have the financial resources, and marketing and political clout, to make sure they won't be unduly penalized.

The issue when it comes to net neutrality is whether the next generation of internet-based startups will be able to grow and thrive the way that FB, Netflix and the like have...

[garbon]

The most profitable and innovative part of the US economy seems to be the Silicon Valley with its cloud services, be it Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft Azure etc. Those rely on net neutrality because they can only offer their services to private and business customers easily thanks to the open internet. And as the US market is the most profitable and most relevant in the world, it will hurt their future innovativeness if they have limitations there. I guess Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu will like it though...

All of those companies will be fine - they have the financial resources, and marketing and political clout, to make sure they won't be unduly penalized.

The issue when it comes to net neutrality is whether the next generation of internet-based startups will be able to grow and thrive the way that FB, Netflix and the like have...

Which was what he said in his follow-up post. Read the fucking thread, people.

[LaCroix]

seems like a maybe, and if things get too bad then they can just add net neutrality back

[dps]

if the consumer is unlikely to be affected and corporations will earn more, then let's kill it. highlight and Backspace this and other regulations unless evidence establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that doing so will damn the consumer!

Right on cue....

Yeah.

Though I'm not entirely in disagreement with him--I'd say scrap the rules if it customers won't get hurt.  But it's very unclear that customers won't get hurt.  While I think Seedy is wrong and customers won't see big price increases, I'm not convinced that Seedy's wrong, either.  I don't really want to take the chance.

[CountDeMoney]

While I think Seedy is wrong and customers won't see big price increases, I'm not convinced that Seedy's wrong, either.  I don't really want to take the chance.

See, this is why, 2 years from now, I will take this exact fucking post and wear. Your. Ass. Out. 

Fucking dumbasses could have WE WILL MAKE MOAR MONEY AT YOUR EXPENSE stapled to your fucking foreheads by the cable companies, and you'd still gaze at your fucking navel, and wonder if they really mean it.   

The fuck country do you think you live in, man?  Have you not been following the cable industry the last 10 years?  Jesus tittyfucking Christ.  Adrift in an ocean of Assburgers.