Do you even internet speeds bro? Cos US Senators don't.

[AlTech]

Congress has no idea wtf internet speeds are. They are freaking digital dinosaurs. And they accidentally just admitted that they have no clue what internet speeds are.

 

Some background:

 

Congress has struggled to understand the internet for a long time, and a group of six US senators joined a chorus of ignorance today when they submitted a letter to the FCC criticizing it for changing the definition of high-speed internet, The Hill first reported. Last January, the FCC made an obvious and reasonable decision to raise minimum download and upload speeds for "broadband internet" from a measly 4Mbps/1Mbps to 25Mbps/3Mbps. It's important that the government have a reasonable definition of broadband that keeps pace with evolving consumer use, otherwise laws governing deployment of internet according to those standards become essentially useless.

Of course, ISPs that enjoy monopoly conditions in many markets across the US don't like being told to provide better service for their customers, and from the beginning, their Republican allies on the commission panned the new definition. At the time, FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly said people could wait to enjoy 4K television for a few more years, and warned that increasing standards could lead us down a slippery slope toward a definition of broadband that supported "interplanetary teleportation."

 

This story:

Today's letter from Steve Daines (R-MT), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Cory Gardner (R-CO) is almost hilarious in its deep misunderstanding about how people actually use the internet and what they need. The senators say that the 25Mbps standard is unnecessary because, for example, Netflix only recommends a download speed of 5Mbps for HD video, and Amazon only 3.5Mbps. (The recommendation for 4K video from Netflix is actually 25Mbps, but we suppose lawmakers agree that nobody should enjoy Ultra HD content yet.)

 

The senators say they are "concerned that this arbitrary 25/3 Mbps benchmark fails to accurately capture what most Americans consider broadband," and that "the use of this benchmark discourages broadband providers from offering speeds at or above the benchmark." If these sound exactly like talking points from Verizon, Comcast, and other major ISPs, that's because they are: Comcast loves to tell Americans that they don't need faster internet, and ISPs join together every time they are about to be regulated to say that regulations will chill their future investments. Ars Technica reported that Republicans in Congress echoed ISP spin about network investments in hearings over net neutrality, but then just three months after the net neutrality rules took effect last year, Comcast posted earnings that showed its capital expenditures actually increased by 11 percent. So the idea that creating a standard will discourage ISPs from meeting that standard is total nonsense.

 

 

Goddamn it! Why you no internet speeds senators? Huh? Why you got to dis man? :angry:

Leave a comment below.

 

http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/21/10810556/fcc-internet-speed-definition

[comefightme]

Luckily we don't live in the US. That country has been going downhill for the last decade

[AresKrieger]

This is why we need to elect qualified people to public office since politicians are really complete idiots. Technocracy ftw.

[Altecice]

Let us not forget that waaaaay back many years ago the US government gave $billions to the ISP's at the time to run new lines and give them the 25/3 broadband classification to everybody in America. Instead they just took the billions and lobbied to get the classification of broadband lowered to what it is now... bunch of corrupt selfish companies, it would not surprise me if thees exact people are being paid to act clueless.

[don_svetlio]

And I'm here in Bulgaria where I pay 20$ for 30/30 monthly

[AlTech]

Luckily we don't live in the US. That country has been going downhill for the last decade

And i have to hold that passport and use that dreadful passport .

 

 

How embarrassing for me, cos I'm am American citizen (even though i don't live in America cos logic!)

[AlTech]

And I'm here in Bulgaria where I pay 20$ for 30/30 monthly

My dad pays the equivalent of $60/month for 900/900 Mbps

[comefightme]

And I'm here in Bulgaria where I pay 20$ for 30/30 monthly

Must... resist the urge to brag....

 

Here in Singapore I get 1000/500 for $39SGD ($27USD) monthly

[FunkyFeatures]

"25mbps is too much" - my friend has 20, as soon as his sister watches netflix, his ping spikes to 180 from 25, and skype quality turns into shit.

I feel like 25/3 is a fair standard, albeit on the low-end since 4k is becoming a thing, and also cloud storage is a no go with that upload speed. 30/10 would be more acceptable I feel like, I would definitely not cut any lower than that on my upload.

[AlTech]

Must... resist the urge to brag....

 

Here in Singapore I get 1000/500 for $39SGD ($27USD) monthly

BRUH.I get 900/900 for $60. BRUH.

[comefightme]

My dad pays the equivalent of $60/month for 900/900 Mbps

Even random small countries in East Asia gets 10 fold the internet speed of the most powerful nation in the world

 

No offense to you, I blame your government

[Oshino Shinobu]

"25mbps is too much" - my friend has 20, as soon as his sister watches netflix, his ping spikes to 180 from 25, and skype quality turns into shit.

This is exactly one of the most simple and effective arguments supporting the higher speeds. Politicians seem to forget (or not understand) that people tend to live with others, so 5mbps shared between two people is effectively 2.5mbps each if they're using it at the same time (doesn't really work like that, but it's simplified for politicians). 

[AresKrieger]

Hmm I wonder what it would take to eliminate comcast/time warner/version.....

 

Even random small countries in East Asia gets 10 fold the internet speed of the most powerful nation in the world

 

No offense to you, I blame your government

It's a combo of problems, the government being comcast's puppet, the size of the country, and the fact google hasn't saved us yet.

[comefightme]

Yeah but the latency when playing online games with other regions is beyond abysmal.

Actually, not so. I get around 100+ ping when playing on a US server, slightly higher for European/Russian servers and less than 50 ping on Eastern Asian servers (Japan, Taiwan)

 

Local servers I get less than 20 ping

 

(Games like BF4, CS:GO)

[givingtnt]

something to know about old people that don't know shit about tech.,

wait for them to die. then have people like our new prime minister. who's posting on facebook about how epic the oculus rift was when he tried it

because canada !

[Minzo]

Let me guess. Lobbyism?
 

 

Big companies pay them to keep the bandwidth down.

 

[acturisme]

It's our own fault as a representative democracy we the people need to vote for tech minded officials.  Running for office wouldn't hurt either. 

But here in ND we still have coops.  Mine is putting in ftth to serve their entire customer base as of 2017.  They are about 3/4 done.

[kuddlesworth9419]

Luckily we don't live in the US. That country has been going downhill for the last decade

What country hasn't though.

[comefightme]

What country hasn't though.

Glorious China for instance, and...

 

...

 

.........

[Smite]

While I agree that US ISP's are complete and utter garbage. Comparing 2 vastly different countries is notably going to leave a large swing everywhere. The labor force, population density, overhead costs and much more, can acccount for why the US sucks at bettering the network. Why we have such shit oligopoly policies on the other hand is complete dog shit. The issue is competition. Where I live there is only 1 major provider and that has been TWC. Another company can on to the stage and litterally 1 week after they(the competition) that they were expanding into the area with faster speeds, TWC sent a mailing saying they were upping to 300mbs. Its not like they cant do it they just have no incentive to. 

[deviant88]

Luckily we don't live in the US. That country has been going downhill for the last decade

And the biggest downstep is yet to come they call it Trump.

[ivan134]

I hope none of the muricans in here complaining are conservative since you think we need more deregulation and that corporations should be considered people and be allowed to outspend the entire country when donating to politicians.

[Mr.Meerkat]

And I'm here in Bulgaria where I pay 20$ for 30/30 monthly

£30/$42 per month for 7/0.75 ...god dammit BT and your shitty copper phone lines...I live in the city and we are meant to be getting fiber this quarter of 2016 sometime...why did we have to move house...my 75/5 will be remembered... 

[don_svetlio]

£30/$42 per month for 7/0.75 ...god dammit BT and your shitty copper phone lines...I live in the city and we are meant to be getting fiber this quarter of 2016 sometime...why did we have to move house...my 75/5 will be remembered... 

My dad got a discount cause he is an invalid (sort of, long story). He pays 15$ for 100/100

[Kherm]

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