What the actual fuck is going on with our Internet!?
(dribbble credit to  Nathan Trafford)
Usually these posts lean towards a more inspirational or happy tone, but something has recently come to my attention that needs to be addressed. Hopefully my tone is clear in this post and I at least inspire you guys to be as fired up as I am. Then we can go back to being happy and awesome... yes? Ok here we go:
So what are you all upset about now?
(dribbble credit to  Tint Digital)
The FCC's Chairman Tom Wheeler has proposed letting service providers such as AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Cable negotiate deals with content makers for quicker and more reliable delivery of their video and other fare.
In plain english: This would essentially keep "internet access" synonymous with "phone lines". Meaning:
they want a regulatory framework that allows them to throttle who they want, when they want, and to be able to charge content providers for the privilege of delivering that content at a usable speed. Doing so would greatly enhance their profits while greatly degrading the free flow of information. Â - the Mac Observer: Net Neutrality And You - It's A Big Deal
Ok... not down, but why are you so pissed?
(dribbble credit to Abdallah Ahizoune)
I'm glad you asked! But bear with me I have to do a little explaining first:
Level 3 is one of the "Tier 1" internet service providers, which, if we keep up with the super highway metaphor for the internets, means they "build and maintain a good portion of the highways used to help make the information superhighway a truly global enterprise".
Level 3 recently came out publicly saying that of the 51 peers (such as Comcast, AT&T, and Time Warner) they deliver content to, 12 of them have "congested ports". Six of these are being upgraded as we speak to be able to loosen the congestion (you could say they're adding new lanes to their highways).
HOWEVER that leaves six ports refusing to upgrade. In other words, these toll roads are charging for you to use their interstate (you're paying premium toll services so you can avoid the congestion) yet aren't getting what you're paying for. This is done on purpose because #moneys. So that's like paying for a toll tag to travel past the congestion, yet being stuck on IH-35 during rush hour in Austin, Texas (or really any hour for that matter). For those of you who don't know what that means - Austin is the 4th most highly congested city in America.
At this time, Level 3 has refused to say which companies these are (however they did mention that they are the companies with the lowest level of customer service, so I'm calling the bitches OUT!). Those companies from worst to still awful are:
Comcast
TimeWarner
CenturyLink
Charter
AT&T
Cox
No big surprise there, right?
(dribbble credit to Louie Mantia)
What I'm saying is, "you are paying for broadband that sucks" and that's not going to change any time soon.
That's bullshit! What can I do!?
(dribbble credit to  William Csete)
I'm not a huge fan of sending emails to representatives, but this situation is so frustrating that I have actually done just about everything on the list here. Some of those options are:
Email your local representative(s). That link contains a template you can literally copy, paste, and send (no thinking required)
Also, you can go sign the petition here before May 24th, 2014 and tell all your friends. At 100,000 signatures, the White House itself HAS to get involved. (we're about half way there)
On your internet bill every month is contact information for your Local Franchise Authority. Complain to them!
I'm going to level with you. My company, Balderdash, works in a building with only one internet provider (game of monopoly anyone?). That internet provider is one of the 6 on that list, and they charge $250/month for the lowest tier of internet. To go up ONE tier, it will raise our cost to $350/month (oh and that increases our download speed about 5MB). And now I'm finding out that not only is that ridiculous, but I'm not even getting what I'm paying for?
Glass Half Full Perspective Please!?
On a positive note, those 6 companies are really making it easy to refute the FCCs new proposition aren't they? "Yeah guys, what you're proposing sucks and here's why...". So, thanks for that!!!Â
Comcast
TimeWarner
CenturyLink
Charter
AT&T
Cox
prguitarman
andulkaphoto
discoholicmusic
izzy806
