While not codified into law by the government until 2014 network neutrality was the underpinning of a gentlemen’s agreement at the start of the internet as a commercial venture after then Senator Al Gore helped write the legislation that took the military Darpa Net and Educations university network system into what would become the internet we know today. No provider of service would charge another service provide extra fees accept the basic usage costs of phone minutes, and connection access.
Those who beat a drum for deregulation while on the take from legacy big business don’t care about the issue of broadband monopolies. They have made this a buzzword 24 second news clip Right vs Left debate. Further showing the republican party dragging the worst performing and actually laziest congress in the history of the United States into a further international laughing-stock. So it is actually amazing that even with this fervor of Republican grand old party politics game playing it is now becoming politically feasible for the FCC to reclassify broadband under Title II status. Big business bought politicians, short of forcing government shutdowns, can’t do anything to stop it. Granted that is if the FCC does do anything though. Continue reading
The Bell Labs R&D division of telecoms giant Alcatel-Lucent has today claimed to set a new world record after they successfully pushed “ultra-broadband” speeds of 10,000 Megabits per second (Mbps) down a traditional copper telephone line using XG-FAST technology, which is an extension of the protocol G.fast (ITU G.9700).
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In the Washington DC federal appeals court on Tuesday, Verizon won a very troubling decision. It is a decision that if not fought could lead to troubling ideas of “toll road” internet prices. Tiers of internet that block certain services like cable packages block certain channels in different cable packages. Independent web services and websites like Netflix, Facebook, Skype, or Google could be crippled or blocked unless you pay for a premium internet experience package while Verizon owned or partnered websites & services could be offered in the cheap basic “Channel” package. A very chilling idea but not unheard of if you think back to the history of telecommunications in the United States.
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