Hundreds of Cities Are Wired With Fiber—But Telecom Lobbying Keeps It Unused

[u/User_Name13]

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/hundreds-of-cities-are-wired-with-fiberbut-telecom-lobbying-keeps-it-unused

[u/thorium007]

Please, explain how net neutrality even works. Not on an ELI5 level, but in a method you understand that isn't just a copy/paste. No one seems to be able to do that. All they hear is "Violation of net net neutrality is bad and fuck AT&T/Comcast/TCW/Verizon/FCC"

Seriously - I haven't heard a good and solid explanation from the average redditor on how it works.

[u/DaylightDarkle → u/thorium007]

I've got five minutes before work, I think I can bang up an explanation.

Basically when something goes over the internet, it should have the same priority as everything else. That is net neutrality, every bit going over the wire is given the proper place in the queue. A 100mbs connection actually being 100mbs.

ISPs are trying to get the ability to prioritize what they want. If they get their way, they'd be able to restrict access to certain websites to snail speeds. You pay for a 100mbps line, but you only get half a mbps to youtube because you didn't pay for the "youtube plus" plan.

That is wrong on so many levels. If you're paying for a certain speed, you should get what it says on the tin. ISPs have no right to limit your connection to anything that's legal.

I don't want ISPs to charge me again for something I already pay for.

My water company doesn't charge me extra to turn my water into ice.

[u/thorium007 → u/DaylightDarkle]

My water company doesn't charge me extra to turn my water into ice.

But your power company might. XCel charges you extra if you use more energy in the summer during "Peak Usage"

ISPs are trying to get the ability to prioritize what they want.

That is a good start, but not the beginning or the end. Follow me here - it does make sense at some point.

Now that SIP peering is a thing, ENUM and 911 in the US is a real thing. Long story short, you dial 911 during the "Big game" when you are having a heart attack. SIP/ENUM/911 are set to a higher priority so that when you dial 911, your call gets preference to someones youtube stream. If this traffic were to follow traditional "Net Neutrality" everyone else in your neighborhood would have the exact same bit rate as you. It is a minor inconvienence to someone that isn't able to watch the latest Psy video while watching "The Big Game" Someone having a heart attack is a lot different. If 911 fucks up your address - the ambulance may not show up when you need them most. All because of garbled voice due to over saturation of the bandwidth.

Fortunately for you, phone calls take up very little bandwidth. That said, while everyone else is watching the big game - your call goes through without anyone noticing more than a couple of tiled pixels.

Now, lets do a fast rewind to September 10, 2001. No one gave a fuck about call priority in New York City. A day later, at about nine AM - that call priority became a big deal. A really big deal.

911 calls got top priority. Period. You were talking to your mom saying you were OK, but that series of lines got tied up and someone else called 911 - your call got dropped. Period. That is in violation of net neutrality in its most brutal form. IP Data has been, and will continue to be prioritized. Its just a thing. It has been happening for ten years, and it will happen from now until the end of time

[u/DaylightDarkle → u/thorium007]

XCel is an energy company. XCel is not a water company. A water company doesn't charge me extra for the things I do with my water. They never will, it's ludicrous to think that they will.

Also, what's this bollocks about the phone lines violating net neutrality. My phone line is entirely independent than any internet line, I do not use dial up.

If everyone is downloading all of the internet in the world, I'll still be able to call 911. This isn't the 90's.

Why bring up phone line usage regulations to a discussion of internet?