verizon throttles fire departments internet while california burns.

[breadisfunny]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...or-throttling/

essentially the santa clara country fire departments internet connection got throttled during an emergency because they had hit their data cap and the fire department had to upgrade to a more expensive package all the while verizon has removed their unlimited data from their previous plans and is now charging 8$ per gb over the limit. meanwhile poor innocent people burn to death because money is more important than people's lives. verizons claims it was a customer support mistake but it's obviously bullshit speak since they didn't actually lift the cap until the fire department upgraded to a more expensive plan. the county is now taking them to court. the only point in verizon's corner is that this was never actually ruled upon by the fcc but is clearly unethical and borderline reckless endangerment of peoples lives. verizon claims it has nothing to do with net neutrality.

the fire was awhile back but i didn't see anything posted on this.
so what do you think of this article. personally i think verizon is being their usual scumbaggy selves and putting profits above people.

[Jonnusthegreat]

This is one of the many reasons that internet should be considered a public utility.

[Cracked]

verizon claims it has nothing to do with net neutrality.

This clearly shows you have no clue what net neutrality means.

[Tico]

OMG, such 'people'.
Pepole over profits should always be the rule.

[medievalman1]

OP, in what way do throttled data plans have anything to do with net neutrality?

[Polyxo]

It's probably an automatic situation, and no one said 'fuck them, shut 'em down', but it is a good example of why these policies are a terrible idea.

[Draco-Onis]

OP, in what way do throttled data plans have anything to do with net neutrality?

Unless it is a technical difficulty they would be barred from throttling under net neutrality since all traffic regardless of volume has to have equal treatment.

[Daethz]

This is one of the many reasons that internet should be considered a public utility.

So it can wither and fall apart like all other public utility's?

[Jonnusthegreat]

So it can wither and fall apart like all other public utility's?

No, so it can be regulated so that this shit doesn't happen. I haven't lost water or power in over a year and it's affordable and does what it's supposed to.

[Afrospinach]

Unless it is a technical difficulty they would be barred from throttling under net neutrality since all traffic regardless of volume has to have equal treatment.

Yeah this is not what net neutrality is about.

[Daethz]

No, so it can be regulated so that this shit doesn't happen. I haven't lost water or power in over a year and it's affordable and does what it's supposed to.

I live near a power plant yet I have power outages and brownouts all of the time, you figure being 6 miles away from a coal power plant would provide me with stable electricity.

[Jonnusthegreat]

I live near a power plant yet I have power outages and brownouts all of the time, you figure being 6 miles away from a coal power plant would provide me with stable electricity.

At least it's cheap, though, I guess? Tough luck for you.

[unbound]

OMG, such 'people'.
Pepole over profits should always be the rule.

You are going to be really disappointed to find out how the health insurance industry works...

[Shadowferal]

Everything Verizon says in this terrible video about net neutrality vs. the truth

Verizon Says It Wants to Kill Net Neutrality to Help Blind, Deaf, and Disabled People

Verizon lobbyists have cited the needs of blind, deaf, and disabled people to try to convince congressional staffers and their bosses to get on board with the fast lane idea. But groups representing disabled Americans, including the National Association of the Deaf, the National Federation of the Blind, and the American Association of People with Disabilities are not advocating for this plan. Mark Perriello, the president and CEO of the AAPD, says that this is the “first time” he has heard “these specific talking points.”

There’s no doubt that blind and deaf people, who use special online services to communicate, need access to zippy Internet. Similarly, smartphone-based medical devices that are popular with disabled people require fast Internet service. Telecom industry lobbyists have argued that, without a fast lane, disabled Americans could get stuck with subpar service as Internet traffic increases. AAPD’s Perriello says this rationale could be genuine but seems “convenient.”

Defenders of net neutrality are more cynical. The Verizon lobbyists’ argument is “disingenuous,” says Matt Wood, a policy director at Free Press, an Internet freedom advocacy group. The FCC says that even if the agency doesn’t go through with its fast lane proposal, companies that serve disabled people would still be able to pay internet service providers for faster service.

I think it's fair to say that Verizon's argument was complete bullshit.

[luc54]

What the hell is wrong with ISPs in the US. Such stupidly low data caps and expensive as fuck. We have unlimited 4G internet for cheap in Finland (13-30€/month). No throttling or other bullshit to deal with. You are really getting the bad end of a deal.

.

[Deleted]

How is a government entity not automatically exempt from such things?

[Draco-Onis]

Yeah this is not what net neutrality is about.

Please do tell what do you think it is about.

[Cracked]

How is a government entity not automatically exempt from such things?

Should government entities not pay utility and phone bills? How about rents? ... What kind of thinking is this, the department had a internet plan in place, they went over the plan, it took time to increase the plan. What sucks in this story is that it takes so long to resolve ANY issues with carriers, not that fire department had to deal with them too.

[The Stormbringer]

As I said in the other thread (weird that two were created at the same time by different people): Corporate greed once again triumphs over human lives. Welcome to America, ladies and gentlemen!

[Cracked]

Please do tell what do you think it is about.

Volume has nothing to do with net neutrality. Net neutrality is based on the idea that your provider can't cherry pick which traffic to throttle. It's still free to throttle all of your traffic as agreed in the contract. E.g. it can't make your pornhub slower while providing unrestricted access to youporn. That's why it's called neutrality.