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Comment by dfxm12 | Hacker News Reader

I agree. I don't think we're going to get tiered packages. It's not good PR. There's a lot more to these predictions though. I think what's going to happen is that that the ISP's that own media content (the big ones, Comcast, AT&T, Dish, etc.) are going to be able to bully out both ISP and digital streaming competition.

Comcast isn't going to charge their customers more, they're going to charge Netflix more (to not throttle them). Netflix will have to raise prices, making Comcast's streaming service more attractive.

This is going to lead to consolidation of media and Internet companies, with less competition in both. Startups will have a harder time to succeed.

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Think about how many households subscribe to Netflix and/or Amazon. Imagine how John Q. Public can be persuaded to complain to his ISP when Netflix puts a big banner in the app that says "your internet provider is stopping us from streaming Thor Ragnarok in HD."

If ISP's weren't a near monopoly, complaining might actually accomplish something. Realistically, those complaints are just going to fall on deaf ears.

"Hey, my service sucks and I'm not going to do business with you anymore! Cancel my service!"

5 minutes later

"So I spoke with the 1 other ISP in my county, and they charge even more insane rates than you. Thank god the free market allowed me to pick you and your superior service! LONG LIVE THE FREE MARKET!"

The fact of the matter is, there isn't enough competition in the sector for a free market approach to function. The government needs to go Bell Labs on the ISPs (and probably a few tech companies while we're at it).

netflix came to be a multibillion dollar business without these laws. more likely, we'll get more consumer friendly options over diverse, specialized 'types' of ISPs, thanks to caching, as we have seen like free music streaming on t-mobile or free netflix on flights. or more vital/cool things like guaranteed rates for remote medical monitoring through partnerships

Netflix came to be in an environment where custom and the threat of regulation stood in for actual regulation.

So what has changed? Why add regulation if there hasn't been any proven need yet? In my opinion the bad PR is more of a threat then regulation

Verizon sued the FCC to force them to regulate in more legally enforceable ways.

That sounds like a good thing. I am not familiar with the case though so not giving Verizon too much credit yet

in 2005, the FCC unanimously adopted a set of what we would now call net neutrality principles to protect customers under the new "information services" regulatory framework. Verizon successfully argued the FCC couldn't enforce those principles under that system, so in 2015 the FCC reverted to the stronger "telecommunications services" framework.

ISPs' actions and stated intentions prove the need. Other posts go into the details, so I won't repeat them.

PR only matters when there's meaningful competition. For most American households, there isn't.

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