One Frightening Chart Shows What You Might Pay For Internet Once Net Neutrality Is Gone

[MADem]

130. It's just a stupid business model, especially in these times.

The paradigm this speculator is using is that of cable companies--tiered pricing. For a LONG time (probably as long as this lawsuit has been meandering through the system) that worked GREAT. Of course, there was damned little competition way back when, and that's not the case anymore. I can remember, years ago, when it was "cable and nothing else." Then, it became "cable and one satellite company." Then, "cable and two satellite companies." Then "cable, two satellite companies, and FIOS." Now there are other ways to get your TV--Netflix, Hulu Plus, etc. etc. The "cable company" is no longer king. That old paradigm is getting shitloads of pushback from consumers, who either jump from special-to-special, cable/Fios/Dish/Direct TV, in a round robin of "give me a bargain, ya basstids" to people who have just "cut the cord" entirely.

It would take ten minutes for some precocious upstart to sell flat-fee cable, and "tier" their service according to USE, not where a person goes on the net. Buy by the pound, as it were.

Bottom line, Verizon may have gotten this ruling that says corporations CAN bill this way, but the ones that decide to do this are screwing themselves. They will encounter competition from businesses that realize that people don't care for "funnelling" and it will result in reduced traffic to businesses, not more.

It's like putting in a toll road to the mall. For awhile people will gripe and pay the toll, but soon enough, people will do one of three things--they'll find the back roads, or they'll stop going to that mall, or they'll start going to the brand-new mall on that other road that doesn't have a toll.