The cable industry does not want to give Americans faster Internet

The cable industry does not want to give Americans faster Internet
The cable industry apparently does not want to give Americans faster Internet, with the industry's lobbying group opposing the FCC's wishes.

In 2014, the FCC set in motion plans to change the definition of 'broadband' to 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up, meaning ISPs offering slower connections could no longer market their Internet as broadband. The numbers certainly seemed fair, as the U.S. currently has some of the slowest broadband speeds on the planet, with the most expensive prices.



The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) opposes this notion: "25Mbps/3Mbps isn't necessary to meet the legal definition of high-speed, switched, broadband telecommunications capability that enables users to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video telecommunications using any technology," the NCTA added. "Notably, no party provides any justification for adopting an upload speed benchmark of 3Mbps. And the two parties that specifically urge the Commission to adopt a download speed benchmark of 25 Mbps--Netflix and Public Knowledge--both offer examples of applications that go well beyond the 'current' and 'regular' uses that ordinarily inform the Commission's inquiry under Section 706" of the Telecommunications Act."

"Hypothetical use cases showing the need for 25Mbps/3Mbps "dramatically exaggerate the amount of bandwidth needed by the typical broadband user," the NCTA concluded.

Currently, the definition of broadband is 4Mbps down and 1Mbps up, but even the most 'typical' family requires more bandwidth, especially if using streaming services on multiple devices. Basically, the cable industry knows they can offer 100Mbps or higher Internet speeds, but they want the average consumer to pay through the roof for it.

Source:
Arstechnica





Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jan 2015 15:54
Tags
broadband Cable fcc
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  • 18 comments
  • Mrguss

    Capitalism = Greed = Poverty for most

    I really do not see it, any other way !!!

    Live Free or Die.
    The rule above all the rules is: Survive !
    Capitalism: Funnel most of the $$$ to the already rich.

    26.1.2015 18:12 #1

  • ZippyDSM

    Originally posted by Mrguss: Capitalism = Greed = Poverty for most

    I really do not see it, any other way !!!
    Socialism pretty makes sure everyone is in poverty, its all a matter of balance and no human system likes to be balanced....

    Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.

    ---
    Check out my crappy creations
    http://zippydsmlee.deviantart.com/

    26.1.2015 18:39 #2

  • DVDBack23

    Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Originally posted by Mrguss: Capitalism = Greed = Poverty for most

    I really do not see it, any other way !!!
    Socialism pretty makes sure everyone is in poverty, its all a matter of balance and no human system likes to be balanced....
    If you make a measly $30,000 USD a year, you ARE THE 1% of the world. Interesting figure to think about...

    27.1.2015 09:18 #3

  • hearme0

    This country sucks!..............mainly in part because it fuels the bullsh*t antics that companies such as Comcast perpetuate.

    Comcast is so anti-American. So was MCI Worldcom, Enron and Arthur Anderson and that's why they are no more.

    The world would be better off without Comcast. (referring to the biz and not their infrastructure.)

    27.1.2015 14:24 #4

  • Mrguss

    Originally posted by DVDBack23: If you make a measly $30,000 USD a year, you ARE THE 1% of the world. Interesting figure to think about... Well. I don't spend my money all around the world.

    Yes. I make a little more than that (Union = 8% of the work force in U.S.)
    But living in a Country full of Sharks & Crooks (Corps, Govt. & Rich ppl. in gral. = The same 250 USA families running the scam show for centuries, Farming the 99% of the American Citizens & the others).

    I just look at most of the people that live with less money & probably with kids. That is not right.

    Go from Capitalism to Socialism are just 2 extremist systems full of brainwash garbage.

    Just my $0.02

    Live Free or Die.
    The rule above all the rules is: Survive !
    Capitalism: Funnel most of the $$$ to the already rich.

    27.1.2015 15:26 #5

  • SProdigy

    Broadband is a joke. Crime Warner sells me a "turbo" package that advertises 20mbps down, but I'm lucky if I get half of that.

    More embarrassing is watching a stream from someone like Netflix, who only requires 3mbps down, and having it freeze or buffer several times during the show, at random days and times. Crime Warner refuses to acknowledge the problems, because they know I can't leave their crappy service since the only competitor, DSL, is far worse.

    Something needs to change.

    27.1.2015 15:44 #6

  • DOS_equis

    Originally posted by SProdigy: Broadband is a joke. Crime Warner sells me a "turbo" package that advertises 20mbps down, but I'm lucky if I get half of that.

    More embarrassing is watching a stream from someone like Netflix, who only requires 3mbps down, and having it freeze or buffer several times during the show, at random days and times. Crime Warner refuses to acknowledge the problems, because they know I can't leave their crappy service since the only competitor, DSL, is far worse.

    Something needs to change.
    That freezing with Netflix is due to them sending over a "SuperHD" (not 4K) stream that eats up around 7Mbps each. I was having a problem with that and complained to Netflix about it but got no where. You can't opt out or otherwise turn it off unless you fully opt out of any HD streams. I just need regular 1080 sent over but the SuperHD is some kinda enhanced and overly pregnant stream that Netflix is pushing. They might even be using it as a way to make a point with the FCC about how the broadband here sucks ass.

    I ended up getting CenturyLink's PrismTV service, which comes with a 24D/ 1.6U connection. I don't recommend the Prism service though. If you have all 4 simultaneous streams recording at once you can pretty much forget about doing anything on the net and the Pace DVR box is beyond laggy and very frustrating to use. A Service tech that came out to install a second box told me not to bother complaining about it because the problems were probably due to the firmware being bloated and they would just install the same box again since that is all they had. After the contract is up we will probably switch to BrightHouse so we can have a faster, more consistent bandwidth and be able to record 4+ streams at once. The max in this area is 10Mbps for internet and 10Mbps for TV (they over provision a little to 24) and they aren't planning to roll out fiber here for a long time. Even if they did it would be astronomical in price that it wouldn't be worth it IMO.

    Note: Sorry for ranting/ threadjacking OP. All of this technology "throttling" annoys me.

    27.1.2015 16:39 #7

  • SProdigy

    Originally posted by DOS_equis: That freezing with Netflix is due to them sending over a "SuperHD" (not 4K) stream that eats up around 7Mbps each. Nah, that's not it. Happens with HBO Go, Hulu, Vudu, WWE Network, you name it. Totally fine one day, or for a half hour, then it craps out here and there. Over the course of the last few years I've had my modem replaced 3 times. Their service is overpriced and not as advertised... I know, first world problems (though the point of this article was to show just how many of those "first worlds" have better broadband than the US!)

    27.1.2015 16:45 #8

  • DOS_equis

    OK. I know the SuperHD was causing me some issues and quite frankly was pissing me off since we never had those problems until they forced that fatter stream. I was stuck with it unless I changed ISP's since CL was selling me the fastest they had here.

    I wonder if you have a problem coming from the node in your neighborhood or have some crappy coax cabling in your house/ at the ped? I assume they have done some kind of testing and not just blindly replacing equipment?

    27.1.2015 16:59 #9

  • mscritsm

    I'm not a big fan of ISPs, but cable companies have been increasing speeds in many markets without extra cost for a long time now. Comcast, for example, just doubled the speeds in several cities in the US (http://www.geekwire.com/2014/comcast-just-increased-internet-speeds-residential-customers-five-cities/ ). Cox has done the same thing in some of its markets. Centurylink and others are installing fiber in some of their markets.

    1.2.2015 02:52 #10

  • ZippyDSM

    mscritsm
    Originally posted by mscritsm: I'm not a big fan of ISPs, but cable companies have been increasing speeds in many markets without extra cost for a long time now. Comcast, for example, just doubled the speeds in several cities in the US (http://www.geekwire.com/2014/comcast-just-increased-internet-speeds-residential-customers-five-cities/ ). Cox has done the same thing in some of its markets. Centurylink and others are installing fiber in some of their markets. The problem is they were given money to expand, and pretty much every one of them refused to expand into near by unserviced areas and used the money for maintenance ect....

    Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.

    ---
    Check out my crappy creations
    http://zippydsmlee.deviantart.com/

    1.2.2015 11:36 #11

  • Irocz005

    Now that they classified 25mbps as min broadband, I wonder how long it will take the cable companies to make the change in their speed.

    1.2.2015 13:06 #12

  • DOS_equis

    Originally posted by Irocz005: Now that they classified 25mbps as min broadband, I wonder how long it will take the cable companies to make the change in their speed. I don't think there is anything that is going to force them to up the speeds. This just makes it impossible legally for the ISP's to advertise the antiquated speeds below 25Mbps as "broadband". It's also supposed to stimulate the ISP's to build out the rural areas a little more quickly, which is what the government subsidy was supposed to do. I guess they took the money and ran on that one. :) The subsidy carriers are also forced to provide at least 10Mbps down as a minimum speed I believe. It will take a millennium for it to roll out across the US and by then there will be a few new standards that have been mandated along the way. It will be great for the customers if the ISP's are held accountable in any way to keep up but I don't think the rules or laws are written in such a way. It's more of a guideline but makes it illegal for them to advertise it as broadband if it's below 25/3. I just wish the US wasn't so far behind in internet speeds. It makes us look like retards.

    1.2.2015 15:01 #13

  • Gorgoroth

    The area I live in is about 35 miles north of Atlanta... And yes, even though that's quite a distance away from the main city, we ARE still part of Atlanta... That being said, Charter is really good about our internet service, and I know personally I've seen the speed increased at least 4 times since I've been with them... Comcast was always crap when I was with them, but I'm glad to be on Charter... Great service, and they do nothing about those "notices" you get for grabbing certain high profile movies... :)

    1.2.2015 20:58 #14

  • ZippyDSM

    We do not get Charter, Comcast,Verizon or ATT, just a small beldso co op, and its 100$ a month for 1MB/1000kbs.....

    You'd think by now with all the money put into it it, the infrastructure would be laid by now and the big boys just sell license or whatever to smaller companies to maintain and use the lines.... nope not in the US its all or nothing....

    Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.

    ---
    Check out my crappy creations
    http://zippydsmlee.deviantart.com/

    1.2.2015 21:18 #15

  • Tarsellis

    4x1 is definitely not broadband. There's scarcely anything you can do with that. Especially with all the multimedia heavy priority loading advertising ALL over the web.

    And you need 3 meg up to really utilize 25 meg down. Especially if you're going to support multiple flows or any latency sensitive applications. And this doesn't begin touch that you're not even going to get a decent video chat/conference out of that.

    Sorry FCC, 2008 called, they want their 25x3 definition of broadband back. This is very backwards thinking and will only encourage the USSA to stay behind the first world.

    2.2.2015 11:24 #16

  • pmshah

    Originally posted by Tarsellis: 4x1 is definitely not broadband. There's scarcely anything you can do with that. Especially with all the multimedia heavy priority loading advertising ALL over the web.

    And you need 3 meg up to really utilize 25 meg down. Especially if you're going to support multiple flows or any latency sensitive applications. And this doesn't begin touch that you're not even going to get a decent video chat/conference out of that.

    Sorry FCC, 2008 called, they want their 25x3 definition of broadband back. This is very backwards thinking and will only encourage the USSA to stay behind the first world.
    Something must be really wrong with your system. Even with a slow - 2 mbps downn and 512 mbps up - connection I have ZERO problems video chattng with my family members spread across the world, right from New Zealand to west cost of USA. What are you looking for ? 4k resolution for chats ?

    2.2.2015 23:19 #17

  • Tarsellis

    Something must be really wrong with your system. Even with a slow - 2 mbps downn and 512 mbps up - connection I have ZERO problems video chattng with my family members spread across the world, right from New Zealand to west cost of USA. What are you looking for ? 4k resolution for chats ? I just happen to have higher expectations. I'm not looking at a 512x512 window. The fact of the matter is that at 512k, there's simply not enough bandwidth or latency for quality voice and usable video much over a thumbnail.

    I'm not worried about what I can barely do right now, and what those who have allowed their expectations to be lowered to the extreme. I'm worried about what we're going to be able to do in the near future.

    And when you're saying that you expect 25x3 meg to be all anybody should need or expect for the next decade, I think you're stuck in the past and are more than happy to the ruling establishment dictate any terms at any time to you.

    3.2.2015 09:58 #18

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