[opendtv] Re: FCC rolls back net neutrality ISP transparency rules | InfoWorld
- From: Craig Birkmaier <brewmastercraig@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 09:18:13 -0500
On Feb 28, 2017, at 10:56 PM, Manfredi, Albert E
<albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Nice to see Craig actually reading the articles, before commenting. (For a
change.)
I always read the articles that our list members link to - albeit, I refuse to
pay fort the New York Times, which makes all of Monty's links a bit more
challenging when I reach my "free article" limit.
I also go back and re-read articles when Bert mischaracterizes what they say.
In this case the update added significant new information.
So the business practice Bert is trying to turn into a major
problem, has already been in use for years.
Should make you wonder why bother with LTE-U, then. You make the point more
than once, that these companies already deploy many WiFi hotspots.
LTE-U is an emerging technology that now appears to be nearing deployment by
T-Mobile. WiFI has been around since 1999. The telcos have deployed WiFi in
part to offload traffic for their subscriber - note that this frees up cellular
capacity and does not eat up subscriber data plans.
Is this a sign of altruism on behalf of greedy monopolists?
No, it is what happens with competition, in this case enabled by the decision
to allocate unlicensed spectrum for WiFi.
Bert may have a point that WiFi is already doing what LTE-U is being designed
to do. Then again, why limit the use of the 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum to only
one technology? If the FCC decides to classify most, if not all, of the 5 GHz
spectrum as unlicensed, why limit the technologies that use this spectrum...
As long as they obey the "rules of the road" for sharing this spectrum.
So bottom line, this all boils down to whether LTE-U bits
will be counted against your data plan...
Of course, or again, it should make you wonder why bother. Or is this one of
those things that blind-sides you, Craig? Like the popularity of HDTV?
?
Also, there is another potential way of distributing these small indoor
hotspots. Somewhat like OTA TV does with low-power stations. Use licensed
frequencies, but at very low power levels, as all of these indoor devices
must do, to avoid interfering with macrocells. So for example, use a licensed
frequency channel from an adjacent macrocell, but not the same macrocell
immediately outside the establishment. Obviously, if the FCC hands then nice,
free spectrum on a silver platter, they'll grab it as fast as they can. Who
wouldn't?
Uhhhh Bert...
Macrocells are not going to use the 5 GHz spectrum - that annoying little
argument about capacity versus coverage. I expect that there will be a major
push by the telcos to offer LTE-U devices to consumers and businesses for
indoor use.
Why do politicians regulate Bert?
Let's see. Okay, for instance, why are tires speed-rated, Craig? Why is your
home electric wiring regulated, Craig? Why is the electricity distributed to
homes regulated, Craig? Why is the water pressure and quality supplied in the
water mains regulated, Craig? Could it be because people discovered what
happens when these things are NOT regulated? Could it be that tires flew
apart when they were installed in vehicles that were too fast, for example?
AHHHH...
the emerging "protection" argument.
You can expect to hear this word A LOT as the new administration attempts to
eliminate regulations.
These are not "regulations," but "protections."
I do a lot of remodeling construction, so I am VERY aware of the building codes
that afford us protections. Unfortunately I see many code violations during the
demolition phase of a project; violations that were signed off by the
inspectors that signed off on these buildings. I could try to save a few bucks
cutting corners, but I go the other direction, over engineering at times
because I am focused on quality.
There were regulations about building construction in South Florida when I was
growing up - it was called the South Florida Building Code. This code required
a number of construction techniques designed to help building survive the
frequent hurricanes that are common in this area. But these regulations made
buildings more expensive, so the construction industry lobbied to change the
codes and was successful.
Thus, a fairly small storm - Hurricane Andrew - destroyed more than 25,000
homes in Homestead and Kendall, in southern Dade County. The relaxation of the
building codes played a role in this devastation. But the major problem was
that building inspectors were paid off to approve shoddy construction.
This problem is so rampant in Florida that we are sitting on a time bomb. We
know that major hurricanes are going to cause massive property damage to
buildings that do not meet code. Most of the major insurance companies have
left the state due to the potential liability; our homeowner insurance rates
are nearly double the rates in most of the country.
The reality is that many of these protections are unnecessary. Consumers have
the ability to evaluate the quality of products; and the better products go out
of the way to explain how they protect the purchaser.
This is a discussion about a government agency that regulates communications
services in the U.S. Very little if any of the regulations they have
promulgated have anything to do with public safety. They have a great deal to
do with creating monopolies and oligopolies that generate huge revenues for
governments at all levels.
It all boils down to doing the right thing. When industries are over regulated
we see many examples of illegal activity to avoid these regulations. Or worse,
we lose those industries to other countries that do not impose such intrusive
regulation.
But it never happened.
Give it up, Craig. Read this:
http://geekslop.com/2014/isp-throttle-netflix-streaming-video-service-fix-overcome-net-neutrality-problems
Sorry. Out of date and irrelevant. Yes throttling did happen, for VERY
LEGITIMATE reasons. These were contractual disputes, not net neutrality
violations. In the end, Netflix stepped up and started paying for its traffic.
It was a super dumb move on their part, given that the FCC was debating a
neutrality mandate right then. It just showed what non-neutral ISPs can
resort to. As I said, but Craig missed it, it makes no difference what the
reason was. It still showed everyone what happens, when these things are left
to the special interests. And people flooded with FCC with messages.
It was the only course of action available to Comcast and others that had
pairing agreements with the CDNs Netflix was using to deliver its bits. These
pairing agreements assumed symmetrical traffic, which became highly
unsymmetrical as Netflix began to flood ISPs with their bits. The throttling
was completely legal, based on the peering agreements. The Net Neutrality
forces seeking intrusive regulation of the Internet by the FCC tried, with some
success to characterize this as a Net Neutrality violation - it was nothing of
the sort.
The technology is just now being developed for VOIP calls.
Pure nonsense. It took me seconds to find this, from 3 years ago:
https://www.cnet.com/news/sprint-adds-wi-fi-calling-to-improve-voice-coverage/
My bad. I should have said it is just now being "deployed.'" Apple has had the
capability in iPhones since the introduction of the iPhone 6 in 2014. Sprint is
the first carrier to offer it to their subscribers.
No, you missed it again. What I did note, and what is in fact HAPPENING, is
that 5G is initially being deployed for something totally different. It is
not being deployed to ease the spectrum crunch at all, at least not at first.
It is being deployed to offer a brand new and competitive fixed wireless
broadband service. It is using that high spectrum because of its better
capacity and availability. Mobile use of 5G will most likely follow.
Yes, it looks like fixed wireless will come first, but BOTH are now going into
trials. The first application to be deployed may be fixed wireless. WHY?
Because the service provider controls the equipment at both ends and can afford
the risk of deploying a non standard solution. Meanwhile the 5G standards are
still being written - it's a bit early for mass deployments.
And then there is the minor issue of spectrum - will it be licensed or
unlicensed. This impacts the way in which 5G cellular will be deployed as
sharing spectrum implies a whole set of rules that are not needed when you
license a spectrum band and control the traffic.
Regards
Craig
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