[PFDurand35]

During my web travels, I came across the following response to a Business Week article that I thought would make an excellent forum topic. The article began with the following statement:

The Internet has always been a model of freedom. Today the Web is flourishing because anyone can click to any site or download any service they want on an open network. But now the phone and cable companies that operate broadband networks have a different vision. If they get their way, today's Information Highway could be laden with tollgates, express lanes, and traffic tie-ups -- all designed to make money for the network companies.

Both the link to the original article (which you should read) and the anonymous response are below.

http://www.businessw...=nws_tech_Dec16

Here is Anonymous’ savvy retort. For the record I agree with him/her.

Regulations schmegulations. I will get my law degree and start filing
class action suits on behalf of everyone with an Internet connection for
each bit of spam that crosses our pipes the minute we have to pay for
each individual bit.
Also, Verizon can kiss my arse. I use their cell phone service but I
hate that company. They suck. Had DSL with them - they like to block
ports and load software on my computer. F U. Get off of my computer and
face the fact that TCP/IP works fine without your stupid apps on top of
it.
Comcast sucks too but they feed bits to me quickly and don't filter like
Verizon.
Unfortunately we will never have a truly free market for broadband
services as long as it is too difficult for most municipalities to offer
more than one provider at a time. Basically each community negotiates
with cable companies and signs an exclusive multi-year contract and we
are all stuck with Comcast or Adelphia or Time Warner or Cox for 1 to 3
years. Basically a monopoly...
It's time that the world faces a few facts. The US owns the Internet
(for now) and the phone companies are going away. The Internet will
replace the PSTN. Everything will be bits and packets. Everyone will
want to charge and tax for the transmissions of various communications.
The FCC is going to want to keep getting paid even though the phone
calls are going across the Internet so they'll try to get a toll/tax
system imposed on certain kinds of Internet traffic. Idiots. They should
stick to worrying about who can transmit on what radio frequencies and
where...
Filter certain kinds of traffic or metering it is stupid because it's
easy to encapsulate one type of protocol in another to hide it. This
leads to inefficiency and is stupid. Radar detectors detect radar. Face
it. Don't bother creating different kinds of radar it's a waste of time.
I expect that all phones will eventually be IP based and will work via
WIFI (whatever flavor is cool) and the cell phone protocols will just be
used when an access point is not available for transporting IP
wirelessly. Think Skype or Yahoo VoIP running on a small computer that
looks like a phone. You pay for generic IP transport through a
microwave/cell service and whatever IP traffic you want to pass across
that connection is fine i.e. HTTP, VoIP etc...
The US government will have to share control of the Internet eventually.
For now it's best to keep control because the rest of the world is
crazier than we are and they'll F it up. Plus, we invented it so go
screw for a little while. Even the playing field with Asian trade
first…

X

Edited by PFDurand35, 22 December 2005 - 06:24 AM.

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*sigh*
America did not invent the internet.
http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/

"With a background of system design in real-time communications and text processing software development, in 1989 he invented the World Wide Web, an internet-based hypermedia initiative for global information sharing. while working at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory. He wrote the first web client (browser-editor) and server in 1990."

"Born London, England, 8 June 1955"

[Aslyfox]

*sigh*
America did not invent the internet.
http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/

"With a background of system design in real-time communications and text processing software development, in 1989 he invented the World Wide Web, an internet-based hypermedia initiative for global information sharing. while working at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory. He wrote the first web client (browser-editor) and server in 1990."

"Born London, England, 8 June 1955"

[Pi rules]

I certainly hope that won't ever happen.
I thought that more people are going to emulate Google with the uninstrusive ads, not charge for their services. I would rather see a few ads than pay money each time I want to visit a site.

[Matt.F]

*sigh*
America did not invent the internet.
http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/

"With a background of system design in real-time communications and text processing software development, in 1989 he invented the World Wide Web, an internet-based hypermedia initiative for global information sharing. while working at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory. He wrote the first web client (browser-editor) and server in 1990."

"Born London, England, 8 June 1955"

Just to be clear, he said America owns the Internet, not invented. Also, the Internet existed in some form long before 1989. See here for reference. While Tim Berners-Lee may claim to have invented the internet, we can put about as much stock in that claim as Al Gore's. Furthermore, he doesn't even claim to have invented the "internet," he claims to have invented the "world wide web." While very similar, the two are not necessarily synonymous. In addition, he has an ulterior motive for making such a claim: it helps promote his company, the W3C, of which he is the director. I think you should look for a bit of a more objective source.

Regards,
Matt

[Aslyfox]

If you look at the bottom of his reply, you will see
"Plus, we invented it so go
screw for a little while."
Also, I see your point about the internet and the World Wide Web being different; but without the WWW, the internet would not be as effective as it is today.
Just out of curiosity, how can you own the internet?

[Pi rules]

Just out of curiosity, how can you own the internet?

You cannot really "own" the internet, but it is possible to own a very large percentage of the servers that help the internet work. The US does own a lot of servers, but that doesn't mean they "own" the internet or anything (in my opinion).

[warriorscot]

CERN was the first true WAN thet was similar to the internet in operation. The internet isnt owned by anyone, alot of the main servers are located in the US and as most sites are in the american comercial group the adress servers are US for those sites, however the internet would contninue to work if for example you had a non US based ISP and only wanted to access sites within a non US address group.

There is also the second and third generatons of internet coming along and those wont have adress servers so centrally located in one country, however the US government and the agencies involved have only recently repledged to ensure the internet remains free.

[PFDurand35]

Do you know I had to change the heading of this post FOUR TIMES before anyone would even post to it. I was feeling really let down by GTG's members (who have always been so thoughtful and insightful in the past) - thanks to those who have commented so far. Oh and for the record I don't agree verbatim with the initial comment, just the overall opinion that putting up tolls for access to certain sites won't fly with the general public and the web is consumer driven (just like everything else in business). If you read the article you saw what happened when someone tried to block Internet calls placed through Vonage's service. Big ol' fine!

My irritation comes with ISPs actining like THEY own the Internet and WWW (and the technology involved with it). Sure they put in the time and money to lay down the fiber et all but that's why we all pay them $20-$65 a month for access to the web through them. Even if I use Vonage I still have to pay for Internet access. As of today, there is no way around that. It seems like they want to squeeze every aspect of online usage. First you pay for connection and once connected you pay to surf one page at a time? C'mon. Why not meter bandwidth and usage like the cell phone companies do with minutes and coverage area? If you live online with more than 3 or 4 Mbps download speed you pay more than someone who's on once a wee at 1.5. Oh wait that would be fair and logical and there isn't a business model in application today that follows that paradigm.

[warriorscot]

Internet is going completely free in some areas thanks to the wimax technology.

[PFDurand35]

But even being wireless can't you still get charged for access? I guess I'm thinking of this like cell phone tech. (you may know all of this but I think it will help to differentiate better if it's all spelled out)

Cell phones are basically full duplex radio devices which have one frequency for outgoing data and one for incoming (unlike CBs that only use the one - which is why only one person can talk at the same time). What you pay for is access to a providers relay capabilities through their cell tower network. The provider has a System Identity Code (SID) that your phone tries to match to its own the moment you turn it on. I can go out and buy a cell phone and power it up but unless I have an active account with a provider, my phone won't have a SID to match with Cingular's or Verizon's causing it to flash the famous "out of range" message. Also providers have Mobile Phone Switching Offices (MTSO) that receive a registration request from your phone to keep track of which particular tower you are within range of (ten mile radius basically) so when someone calls your phone the MTSO knows which cell to send the call through.

So if you have a device with WiMAX tech inside of it, how is accessing a web site's server NOT like placing a call with a cell phone? Where is your point of access to the web? Isn't there going to be someway to be identified and subsequently have your authorization to access verified? Please explain.

Edited by PFDurand35, 27 December 2005 - 08:57 PM.

[warriorscot]

Because the wimax would be free basically thats how it works i suppose you could alter it to charge people but thats not what the technology was designed for.

[PFDurand35]

Yah, well, neither was the Internet and now people are making billions off of it in all kinds of ways. It's kind of like Oppenheimer and bomb. There are always those with money and power waiting in the wings to pounce and pervert. Such is the way of the world.