You’ll get your fill of legal issues today… Net Neutrality is back in the news, not the mainstream news for the low information people. But, in the channels of the activists where more is heard.
It seems T-Mobile came up with a great competitive idea. They would provide their users music. The music data download would not count against their data plan. Basically listening to music on T-Mobile was to be free, as in no data cost. Neat, huh? I know that would be really good for me as my car radio died… getting fixed someday. I use iHeart on my phone until then.The FCC that now manages Net Neutrality and is working to turn the world’s most creatively dynamic fast changing marketplace into a locked in place unchanging public utility requiring permission from the FCC and an act of Congress before doing anything, has said no. You can’t provide free music download to customers. That violates our standards.
So, you won’t be seeing this free music service coming to your carrier. In a normal free market competition would force all carriers to eventually offer free music downloading. The idea a business cannot give something away for free and that the government gets a say is just so wrong.
To give you an idea of what a mess the government is making of the Internet in America, the FCC has basically told Internet Service providers and those that use those services, they must consult the FCC before offering any new service. Oh, and by the way, no matter what we tell you about your new service… we may change our mind at anytime and reverse our decision on your new service. So, even if we tell you, you can spend your money and setup a new service, we may come back at anytime and say no you can’t do that. You just wasted all that money. Sucks to be you. That FCC statement, I paraphrased it for effect, is the definition of regulatory uncertainly.
Consider what this uncertainly does to a business. If you make clothes or anything for Second Live™ and the Lab came out said we are going to stop using mesh and move on to something better. Ummm, OK. What? The Lab says we haven’t decided, but it all changes tomorrow… or maybe next week… but, may in an hour. Will you keep working on your projects and starting new ones? Or will you stop and wait to find out what the Lab is going to do? Because of the uncertainly you will likely put new projects on hold. Uncertainly paralyzes business.
I hope that those of you that thought you knew what Net Neutrality in America was and what it would do for you have realized just how much you have been played. In general the majority of the American public told their representatives not to pass the law. They didn’t. The Executive Office went around Congress and the people to arbitrarily impose it. In America we are losing our freedom and starting to learn what it is like to live under a totalitarian government.