Understanding Net Neutrality: Five Myths Debunked

Net neutrality in and of itself is not an issue. I agree that is a big misunderstanding. Not to mention- as broadband itself is not in all technicality a utility service - per se- as POT telephone lines or power lines- it is unfair to hold MSO operators to the same standards for build outs when they are not given the same state and federal funding to build and maintain the lines. They should be able to make a profit on opening up the “fast lane” to commercial enterprise (as long as it does not reduce the the overall download speed) to some of the streaming companies willing to pay premium prices- what is more disconcerting is more and more companies putting data caps on residential broadband. With cord cutting become more of the norm- and over the top subscriber pay companies like HULU and Netflix streaming in higher def (1080P to 4K) that can eat a data cap of a terabyte up quickly. Standard pricing on HSI only rates are on the rise as it is (and that is with unlimited broadband)- if MSO providers continue to raise rates, and turn to data caps- it is pressing customers to return to utilizing standard cable packages instead of over the top streaming options. That is by far more troubling than the idea of “net neutrality”- and if people focus too much on the idea of net neutrality- they may miss out completely on the rise in broadband pricing and the switch to data caps on residential broadband. It is already happening in the mobile industry with the so called “unlimited data” subscriptions that are not really unlimited- when customers become “de-prioritized” after utilizing typically 20 plus gigs per month- depending on the provider.