----- Original Message -----
From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2018 9:34 PM
Subject: [opendtv] Re: Multichannel News: New York Governor Mandates Net
Neutrality in Contracts
John Shutt wrote:
Gee, Bert, you responded to every one of my questions except this one:
"With all of the hand-wringing over Chairman Pai's action, it's a
wonder the internet ever made it to 2015 in the first place."
I thought the answer to that was entirely subsumed in the other
explanations, John. And in an endless series of previous posts, addressing
this subject. But okay, here's an unvarnished summary.
First, it is not at all a wonder that the Internet became what people have
accepted it to be, i.e. open and neutral, because from 1981 or so to 2000,
it was accessed over Title II telephone lines, it was carried over Title
II trunk lines. This was true even before ISP service to homes became
prevalent. We were using Bell Atlantic lines for Internet access well
before the WWW era began. So no, John, there is no wonder that the
Internet became what people want it to be. It was simply following on the
same path as the telephone network.
When the broadband era began, ADSL was STILL regulated under Title II,
rightfully so, but the cable companies got an entirely unfair freebie.
Now, I can understand that a cable company, with a culture of making deals
under the table with content owners, with a culture of charging users
different rates for different content, would have been loath to see Title
II slapped on them. But let's wake the hell up. The cable TV companies
were getting into serious telecom business here, and that carries with it
certain obligations and responsibilities that MVPD service does not have.
The PROBLEMS began happening precisely because the cable companies thoughtVonage was attacked by the Title II Telcos, not by internet service providers. BitTorrent was attacked by content owners who were suing internet service providers that allowed copyrighted material to be transported over their networks. And Netflix was attacked by the cable companies who provided their own content, but have come to terms with Netflix. Comcast downloaded a Netflix app on my Xfinity X1 cable box, so if you can't beat them ...
they could get away with the same non-neutral, "I'm the gatekeeper and the
boss" attitude that they had practiced for decades, also when operating as
Internet broadband access service. There are many examples of misbehavior
that I provided links to, but three that come to mind are Vonage,
BitTorrent, and Netflix. So it is totally disingenuous to pretend that the
Internet did just fine without Title II neutrality. Quite the opposite.
And it's the FCC's JOB to understand these realities, and not to play
ignoramus dumbass, as any clueless joe on the street might be.
So, aside from the lies and corrupt behavior, misrepresentation of facts,
and apparent myopia in understanding the subject matter, all meant to
favor exclusively 3 or 4 big companies, the other aspect of this
Chairman's position that should really piss people off is the idea that
ISPs should now play the same sort of gatekeeper role they played as
MVPDs. This Chairman even encourages that behavior. So I'll repeat, unless
you're in the employ of these 3-4 companies, or being paid under the table
by them, or don't know what the Internet is, there's simply no way we
should sit by and watch this Chairman attempt to degrade our telecoms.
None.
