Comcast Claims They Support Net Neutrality

Internet Service Providers like Comcast have had it out for the net neutrality rules passed back in 2015 since they went into effect. They might say they want a free and open Internet but their actions tell a different story.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, probably taking orders from the telecom industry, announced recently plans to do away with net neutrality. Comcast has already started walking back its previous rhetoric on the subject.

In the past Comcast said, “We don't prioritize Internet traffic or have paid fast lanes, and have no plans to do so." Now Comcast says “We do not and will not block, throttle, or discriminate against lawful content." or impose the more nebulous "anticompetitive paid prioritization." What is actually “anticompetitive” is open to interpretation whereas before they just said they won’t prioritize. Most of the bigger Internet Service Providers say that they support net neutrality but want to repeal the net neutrality rules.

Several US Senators wrote a letter to Pai asking him to delay action on the rules but he has already made up his mind so refused to consider it. The Attorney General from New York also requested delaying action and wants him to investigate the cracing of the FCC website when they opened up comments on net neutrality rules. It seems like Chairman Pai forget that he works for the people and thinks he works for big business. Maybe he is just looking to secure a job for when he leaves government work.

After the dust settles on the whole net neutrality subject we will see if Internet providers like Comcast offers “fast lanes" to websites to ensure the site loads quickly.

Connecting America to High Speed Internet Across the Country

Although the percentage of Americans that can't get connected to the Internet has been going down over the years the need to be connected has gone up. It is more important than ever to find fiber optic Internet service in your area. It is hard to learn in school these days without an Internet connection.

Back when electricity was new it wasn't always easy to get electricity all the way to your house if you lived out in the country. Okay, maybe electricty wasn't actually "new" but having it connected to your house and using it to toast your bread and heat up your oatmeal was. Since it was hard to get electricy way out in the boondocks electrical co-ops were formed to help get power to all the houses.

Fast forward eighty or so years and people who don't live in the city are having the same issues with high speed Internet connections in their towns. It is expensive to install Internet to people's homes.

One problem now is that although they won't spend the money to connect them, the existing commercial ISPs don't want any competition so they sometimes try to make laws to make it harder for co-ops and municipalities to install Internet lines.

Ajit Pai, the new FCC Commissioner, seems to be taking orders from his former employer, Verizon and working to maintain the existing ISPs dominance in the industry. There are about 60 electrical co-ops that have started to offer Internet to make sure the residents can get access to the high speed fiber optic Internet in their zip codes.