Net Neutrality
We had just enough light on Tuesday to make it down to Lower South Falls. I haven't seen this one in perhaps 15 years, but fully intend to come back sometime soon and hike the whole trail with a good half day so I'm not rushed.
Today, a story dropped about a lawsuit bring brought against AT&T over throttling data speeds for customers with unlimited plans. This part of AT&Ts response is classic.
AT&T responded by calling the FTC’s allegations “baseless” and an intrusion into the normal network management required by telecommunications providers. The company also noted that it had alerted customers about the throttling, by sending e-mails or texts notifying customers that they had crossed pre-set limits and would experience slower data speeds for the rest of the billing period.
I've been on a Grandfathered, Unimited plan since the first iPhone came out and can vouch for these monthly texts and the almost immediate crawl that the data transmission turns into shortly thereafter.
So it's ok to be screwed out of something you paid for as long as you get an alert right as it starts?
Unfortunately, I would guess that the grandfathered plans will be cancelled at the next upgrade cycle.
Sometimes I wish I had some huge platform that would make a difference so I could scream this stuff and actually change the way things are. I don't think I can say it any clearer than Nilay Patel-
THE INTERNET IS A UTILITY, JUST LIKE WATER AND ELECTRICITY
Go ahead, say it out loud. The internet is a utility...
It’s time to just end these stupid legal word games and say what we all already know: internet access is a utility. A commodity that should get better and faster and cheaper over time. Anyone who says otherwise is lying for money.
