Sorry for the length, but this is a hugely important issue. I - TopicsExpress



          

Sorry for the length, but this is a hugely important issue. I spent 3 days writing this, and made it as concise as possible, while delivering the necessary information. Here it is, folks! This is why Ive been downloading a prodigious amount of information for the last several years, and why Ive encouraged all of you to do likewise. Youve probably noticed that the unlimited cell phone data plans have all but disappeared; replaced by plans with monthly data limits. Well, now your home and business internet are being constrained to monthly limits as well, unless you pay ransom to the internet oligopoly [1]. If you wish to create, compile, or learn more than a few gigabytes worth of information each month (a single HD movie is over 1 gigabyte), then you will have to pay more, which means you will have to work more, which means you will have less energy and time to create and learn. See how that works? Who can say if that kind of intellectual suppression is part of the plan (just smart enough to take orders, but too dumb to question them?), or merely an acceptable consequence of business to these profiteers. But it seems like an obvious enough consequence that we can reject the excuse that it hasnt occured to Legislators or Internet Service Providers. They either know and dont care, or they know and they want it that way. But the old incompetence mantra isnt flying this time. Neither should we accept the excuse that a looming bandwidth shortage makes data caps necessary [2]. A fiber optic cable exists which can transmit 255 terrabits per second, or the equivalent of the entire internet at peak traffic, on a single line [3], and other methods of increasing bandwidth are available as well [4]. They just arent being employed. If any shortage truly exists, it is being artificially imposed by the suppliers, not by an excess of demand from consumers. See, this is one of the problems with limitless capitalism (not all capitalism; dont start screaming socialist!): without any legal ceiling on ownership, people can control so much of a market that they can use artificial scarcities and surpluses to manipulate prices fraudulently. Its what the Russian oligarchs, De Beers, and Lev Leviev do with the diamond industry: they restrict the availability of diamonds when they want the price to go up, and let them flow freely when they want the price to go down, to drive competition out of business [5]. Its standard operating procedure for most large corporations, because the Congressmen and -women whose campaigns they fund keep writing loopholes into legislation that make it legal. And its not a problem that voting can get rid of either, because corrupt law-makers can easily slip new loophole riders into ten more pieces of legislation while were spending enourmous amounts of time, money, and man power to get just one loophole repealed. Like Sisyphus rolling a boulder up a hill, while the Titan Hekatonkheires hurls more boulders at us a hundred at a time. But youre not a patriot and you have no voice, unless you keep trying to roll that boulder up the hill, right? Yeah right. Like any of these State-empowered corporate conglomerates, our ISPs are sitting on a critical resource to drive up the price; in this case, holding our minds and information utilities hostage; making information scarce for those unable to pay, and expensive for those who can, all while being subsidized by our taxes. So, lets iron this out as clearly as possible, that we will not be easily duped by doublespeak, and can work together against these exploiters, instead of being divided by them and used to conquer each other. In simplest terms, a market is not competative unless supply and demand are what regulate availability and price. If you artificially restrict the supply to drive prices up, or flood the market with previously hoarded supplies to drive prices down, then you are a criminal, even if your fellow criminals who write the laws dont call you one. We can see you hiding behind all that legalese, and we are coming for you. 1. arstechnica/business/2014/05/comcast-plans-data-caps-for-all-customers-in-5-years-could-be-500gb/ 2. zdnet/blog/open-source/open-the-airwaves-to-close-the-bandwidth-shortage/7277 3. rt/news/200151-internet-speed-fiberoptic-cable/ 4. factor-tech/connected-world/9769-scientists-urge-governments-to-turn-old-tv-frequencies-into-free-super-wifi/ 5. factsanddetails/world/cat51/sub324/item2421.html
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 02:53:31 +0000

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