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Non-Competition Agreements Between Internet Service Providers. By Ben Fleshman. Overview. What a non-competiton agreement is Why it's bad How they affect people/businesses Why there's no opposition What can be done. What is it?.
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Non-Competition Agreements Between Internet Service Providers By Ben Fleshman
Overview • What a non-competiton agreement is • Why it's bad • How they affect people/businesses • Why there's no opposition • What can be done.
What is it? • Large internet service providers make agreements to avoid competition in most areas. • Swaths of land are negotiated as a provider's "turf".
Why They're Bad • Companies work together to control their market. • No competition allows for higher prices/shoddy service. • ISPs often actively avoid offering cheaper options in an area. • If a consumer is unsatisfied, they have limited alternatives.
How They Affect Users • No competitive pricing. • Often times there are no alternative providers in the area. • Company is apathetic to customer needs. • No competitive data rates available across providers. • Collect usage information via Deep Packet Inspection.
How They Effect Businesses • Internet service providers can throttle data for businesses that rely on fast connections and charge them premium rates. • Can eliminate smaller competitors unable to pay these rates and create similar issues in other markets.
Other Abuse of Power • Verizon Wireless censors NARAL • AT&T censors Pear Jam • Comcast Throttles BitTorrent, eDonkey, and Gnutella
Why They're Unopposed • Starting a company as an internet service provider is often very expensive. • Large ISPs have unlimited time, money, and lawyers.
What can be Done • Net Neutrality would see that all data types are treated as equal value and prevent ISPs from throttling content. • New rules passed by the FCC are intended to prevent content from being blocked and do away with pay to play fast lanes for businesses that can afford them
Sources • http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/04/one-big-reason-we-lack-internet-competition-starting-an-isp-is-really-hard/2/ • http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/14/net-neutrality-fcc-what-is-it • http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/02/economist-explains-7 • http://www.pcworld.com/article/249137/what_is_deep_packet_inspection_.html • http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/6/5686780/major-isps-accused-of-deliberately-throttling-traffic • http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/technology/net-neutrality-fcc-vote-internet-utility.html?ref=topics • https://www.aclu.org/feature/what-net-neutrality?redirect=net-neutrality • https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140904/11454828417/fccs-tom-wheeler-admits-there-isnt-really-broadband-competition.shtml