Internet Freedom

[Jim Becker]

Nic, I don't disagree that competition based on quality would be nice, but the world unfortunately doesn't work that way. Revenue and profit have taken over quite profusely no matter where you look.

That said, let's be sure to remember that despite most of this conversation so far as well as where it originated and through the work of whom, the Internet, as we now know it, isn't a US-focused community. It's global.

[Randal Stevenson]

Nic, I don't disagree that competition based on quality would be nice, but the world unfortunately doesn't work that way. Revenue and profit have taken over quite profusely no matter where you look.

That said, let's be sure to remember that despite most of this conversation so far as well as where it originated and through the work of whom, the Internet, as we now know it, isn't a US-focused community. It's global.

You mention competition, THAT is a problem. DSL has limited range, and isn't an option where I am, so the cable company (singular), gets to charge you whatever they feel like, if you need high speed. Dial up is a lot harder to find, as a local provider anymore, and most of the local ones have gone over the last 6 years.

[Derek Rose]

5 years ago I paid twice as much for of 1/100 of the bandwidth.

56k then 6000k now. I'm happy.

Part of this is caused by an enormouse drop in cost to provide, all while we've made leaps and bounds in regards to the technology used. Take a look at webhosting. Pre-2000, it would cost a hundred or so dollars a month to host up a decent website that was pretty much plain HTML. Now you can almost get it free and run your own personal blog right alongside it.

The net is an interesting yet complex tool that is misunderstood by quite a lot of people. It's unfortunate that sometimes those who misunderstand it are the people who make decisions about it.





.....sorta like me with a bandsaw.....

[Derek Rose]

The day is not far off when all services, electric, phone, internet, tv, enter your home over a single wire.

Answer: Cable

Internet
TV
VoIP Phones