This is pretty big IMO. Basically ISPs have been talking about providing tiers of service for different content, allowing them to charge content providers for better access to their customers (think being able to download stuff faster from Site A vs. Site B simply because site A paid your ISP for that privilage).
I was reading the comments in that article and it sure seems like Canadians have been screwed by the major cable companies.
Quote:
Look what weak Net Neutrality regulations have done north of the border. In addition to the above example, Telus, Shaw, Rogers, and Bell are all working hard to eliminate any competition to their core services (Telephone and Television). For those of you don't know, Bell and Telus provide traditional phone service in Canada and thus provides internet over phone cables. Bell operates in the East and Telus in the West. Shaw provides Cable services in Western Canada while Rogers does the same in the East.
Recently the announced data-caps which are set at a level so low that VOIP based services become uneconomical. Thereby, Telus (Western) and Bell (Eastern) can protect their traditional telephone lines. Now, to use a VOIP based services requires a very expensive Internet plan which makes any cost savings from VOIP moot. Once you take the combined cost of VOIP and Internet Service Plan, it makes more sense to use Telus or Bell’s traditional services.
Similarly, they have also reduced data caps so low that using Netflix or iTunes or any other video streaming services becomes uneconomical. Instead to enjoy your entertainment you are required to keep your Cable or Satellite connections.
How/why did caps on internet usage become a thing?
Net neutrality is the principle that all bytes are treated equally, though that usually gets clarified to that all bytes of the same type of application are treated equally. So a Shaw (for example) could not prioritize bytes for Shomi or to not count it as part of its usage caps (if it had one) if it did not do the same for Netflix.
But it doesn't speak to network management or how you priced your service (other than that you couldn't discriminate).
I wish I could say it's amazing that some people are arguing this is a government attempt to control content and reduce their freedoms ... but it's not.
I wish I could say it's amazing that some people are arguing this is a government attempt to control content and reduce their freedoms ... but it's not.
freedom,
first it's the internets and then it's the guns.
Net Neurality passed by FCC
