Moyers's Warning: Bloggers Are Threatened by Two-Tier Internet

[survivor999]

By Dave Shiflett

Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- There's a battle going on for control of the Internet, and if consumers don't watch out they're going to be playing second modem to the captains of industry.

Bill Moyers delivers that warning in ``The Net at Risk,'' an engrossing special airing Oct. 18 on PBS at 9 p.m. New York time.

The black hats are worn by a handful of media conglomerates who hope to build a two-tiered Internet, with the fastest tier going at premium prices. Everyone else will surf at reduced speeds, which can be the fast track to Net oblivion.

Speed may kill in some arenas, but it's the basic ingredient of life in cyberspace.

After opening remarks by Moyers, still sure of tongue and dapper in a crisp tan suit, reporter Rick Karr does an excellent job providing historical context.

In the beginning the Internet was truly democratic -- anyone with a computer and a dial-up connection could log on and surf as fast as the equipment allowed. But the system was accessed via old-fashioned copper telephone wires that weren't capable of high-speed transmission.

No worry. In the 1990s phone and cable companies promised to re-wire America with fiber-optic cable, thus keeping pace with some European and Asian providers. All they wanted in return were tax breaks and the rate hikes to cover infrastructure outlays.

More: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=axYctQv7XBS8&refer=home

[oc2002]

1. I think there is a Bill Moyers on tonight on WETA on this topic.

I think its more about greed and control, since money is the only thing those bastards care about.

but, yeah. it will impact sites like this one.

[survivor999]

3. YES, Moyers TONIGHT on PBS.

It's at the end of the article.

[rodeodance]

2. gawd. this is so important. Another sympton of Haves/ Have Nots!

[RedEarth]

4. Moyers is on tonight....................... must see TV.. TeeVeeeeeee

[ooglymoogly]

5. k&r nt

[pacalo]

6. I received notice from my provider last month...

(I changed the name of the provider to "XYZ")

Going crazy for more speed?
If you've been thinking about upgrading to the XYZ Premier Package, it's the crazy fastest you'll find anywhere. Premier has blazing speeds of 12Mbps download… that's up to double BellSouth 6 Mbps DSL! Don't wait 12 minutes to download that CD, when you can get it in less than 7 minutes! Take advantage of a special offer: upgrade now and get the first month of Premier service for only $41.95!* After that pay less than $57 per month for this ultra fast service!* This offer expires Tuesday 9/26, and is only available if you upgrade online, so visit http://www.xyz to learn more.

[AllexxisF1]

7. This will not stand!

This whole measure has come about mainly due to peer to peer file sharing. The bottom line is these telcom companies want to be able to deliver tv, movies, phone and internet to your home and they need all the bandwidth they can get.

Tough shit for them.

Almost all the copper lines stretched across this nation sits on land owned by American citizens. Not only do we allow this copper to be run on public lands we also PAID FOR THE DAMN LINES IN THE FIRST PLACE.

The internet belongs to everyone and no telcom has the right to block, impede and squeeze traffic as they see fit (even though it already happens on a small scale).

Remember folks these telcom companies would not be what they are today if it was not for us. That relationship should never EVER! be changed in order for them to make more money.

[Hoping4Change]

9. Great points.

Welcome to DU AllexxisF1:hi:

[goforit]

10. Welcome Alexxisf1..... Hope you're right. King George makes the laws now.

[pacalo]

11. In addition, my internet speed has been noticeably sluggish for the

past two months. I've talked to a tech about it & we went through the basic drill of unplugging the modem & router, restarting computer, etc. He suggested that we change routers, which we did, but I haven't noticed any improvements.

And welcome to DU, AllexxisF1. :hi:

[JRob]

16. if they can "suspend" parts of "the bill of rights" this will be a...

cake walk. Consider what was signed into law yesterday. Where was the representation of the American people? Unless the masses (red & blue) wake up and take action, it's all over. What you said above, although probably true is just a speed bump, nothing no debate and a couple of signatures wont remedy.

Gotta keep trying though. See the link in my banner...

[krkaufman]

8. A good example would be ... w/o Net Neutrality, you'll never get ...

... another YouTube.

[originalpckelly]

12. There are plans being made if they take away the net...

I started working on it a couple of months ago. Basically, instead of hooking up to the internet via a land-line or some major ISP, we will string high-speed WIFI all over America. We will create maps like the geography of earth, and they will map out the various routes to a website such as google or youtube. People will own the new net themselves.

But that is if the whole traditional internet doesn't work out. It may very well be okay.

[dxdem]

13. A la mesh networking...

Add a little TOR-style functionality in there and voila!

[JRob]

14. ...been harpin' on this for a while (see my banner). Very important!

[Cha]

15. KNR~

For Bill Moyers and thanks, Bill, for tryin' to warn our internet asses.

[slipslidingaway]

17. K&R tonight Wednesday, October 18, 10:00

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica/index.html

[survivor999]

18. Kick!

[GoreDean2008]

19. Anti-Net Neutrality = Third World Mentality

Big phone and cable companies going against the Internet freedom are showing their third-world mentality. Such nasty attempts should never be tolerated otherwise the U.S. Internet will never catch up with other countries' Internet. Come to think about it. Our Internet is already behind some other countries, most notably South Korea. Restricting the Internet freedom will make our country less competitive economically and less democratic politically. Why would you allow such measures at our own expense?

[GoreDean2008]

22. Remember Back When

Private sectors argued in favor of smaller government and bigger private sector rolls? If you let the big conglomerates loose, they end up regulating and restricting our lives instead of providing best services. This is why the citizens and the governments have to discipline and regulate big conglomerates. We have to have a stronger middle class, more small-/mid-size business owners, and better regulation on the large conglomerates in order to protect our political freedom and economic well-being. Otherwise, America as we know it will end.

[survivor999]

25. Absolutely. And it's obvious.

Large conglomerates are like huge cancers; their sole purpose is to self-perpetuate and grow.

[gatorboy]

20. Anyone watching this right now? n/t

[survivor999]

21. I'll watch it on Sunday, when it plays again.

Is it good?

[KoKo]

23. It was excellent! He laid it all out in a very understandable way..

what the issues are and who are the villains and it was interesting to see the Christian Coalition working with those who support Net Neutrality.

Also...that we already paid for the optical fiber upgrades that the companies want to charge us for again!

[survivor999]

24. I'm so sick of corporate theft....

And I keep seeing it every day at many levels.

[faithnotgreed]

26. i love bill moyers

[nealmhughes]

27. Here are the notes I made on the topic last night for a blog post tomorrow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6waWS0Y3Ubc




http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2006/issue1/Kfir.pdf

net neutrality: baby bells scamming us out of $200B without delivering fiber optics! http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20060131/2021240.shtml#comments


Should the Net Be Neutral?
May 24, 2006 Wall Street Journal
he Wall Street Journal Online invited Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and a net neutrality proponent, and former White House spokesman Mike McCurry, who heads a phone industry group, to debate the issue. Their exchange, carried out by email, is below.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114839410026160648-l8Cd7lakn_8givyNOVIeReUDNLw_20070523.html

Newmark:
"Current net neutrality (as currently conceived) functions well, allowing innovators to create wealth and help us all out. Why should the FCC or Congress fool with that? We've seen that the telecoms don't need more privileges, they need to get serious about using their existing resources.

We're not talking about "one size fits all," since we need improvements to Internet tech for stuff like video. Please do note that the big guys don't innovate much, it's pretty much all from small business. I can't think of any innovation from them. They usually run infrastructure well, not much new.

Even Mike's clients have confessed that they intend to discriminate. They consistently forget who owns the airwaves and public rights of way on which they've built their fortunes. They frequently break their commitments..."

Mises Institute http://blog.mises.org/archives/005177.asp Bunch of rightwing bullshit "property rights" crap

Markey Amendment http://www.rules.house.gov/109_2nd/specialrules2nd109/hr5252/109hr5252_markey20.pdf
Rollcall: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll239.xml#N
Democratic nays: partial: ackerman, boca, barrow, berry, bishop, boren, boswell, brady, c. brown, butterfield, cardoza, carnahan, clyburn, costa, cramer, crosby, cummings, davis (sc) (tn)....

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The top link is the Henry Rollins Show on IFC clip from You Tube; and the most amazing stuff is how the Mieses Institute actually claims that "owning" the airwaves/radiospectrum/means of communication is a basic "property right." Note the $200Billion that the FCC authorized to the telcoms to give us 100% fiber optics coverage, yet has not delivered to date...and not given back any of the money in rate cuts....

A huge scam. I cannot afford to blog if I need to pay to have webtime...I can barely afford access on dialup right now!

[Blue_Tires]

28. ttt one time