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Comcast Agrees to buy Time Warner Cable

  • IggyPride00
    Netflix agreed today apparently to start paying Comcast in order for better access for their customers who have been experiencing slow speeds for months now.

    Their goal of turning the internet into one big toll booth is progressing nicely.
  • Pick6
    anyone else's time warner been running like ass for the majority of the past week or so? I have the home turbo and ran a speed test a few minutes ago.ping is 87 which is good. but upload speed is .53mbps and download speed is .7mbps. I dont know what is good...but I think its a safe assumption that those #s are absolute ass.
  • JD413
    That's hardly worth paying for.
  • WebFire
    Pick6;1583729 wrote:anyone else's time warner been running like ass for the majority of the past week or so? I have the home turbo and ran a speed test a few minutes ago.ping is 87 which is good. but upload speed is .53mbps and download speed is .7mbps. I dont know what is good...but I think its a safe assumption that those #s are absolute ass.
    That's hardly as good as my shitty DSL.
  • Rotinaj
    Pick6;1583729 wrote:anyone else's time warner been running like ass for the majority of the past week or so? I have the home turbo and ran a speed test a few minutes ago.ping is 87 which is good. but upload speed is .53mbps and download speed is .7mbps. I dont know what is good...but I think its a safe assumption that those #s are absolute ass.
    I'd find out what speed you are supposed to be getting and go from there. My internet isn't very good(like 14 up 1 down 10 ping) but makes me feel like a king compared to that.
  • dlazz
    Pick6;1583729 wrote: I have the home turbo and ran a speed test a few minutes ago.ping is 87 which is good.
    Depending on what you're pinging, that's not incredible.
  • JD413
    But it's good.
  • JD413
    Pick6;1583729 wrote:anyone else's time warner been running like ass for the majority of the past week or so? I have the home turbo and ran a speed test a few minutes ago.ping is 87 which is good. but upload speed is .53mbps and download speed is .7mbps. I dont know what is good...but I think its a safe assumption that those #s are absolute ass.
    Also, is this a wired connection, or wireless?
  • dlazz
    IggyPride00;1583728 wrote:Netflix agreed today apparently to start paying Comcast in order for better access for their customers who have been experiencing slow speeds for months now.

    Their goal of turning the internet into one big toll booth is progressing nicely.
    While I agree, I think the terms of this deal were a little but different. The way it works now is that there's a middleman between Netflix servers and Comcast. This deal was to cut out the middleman.

    But I agree with you. This is going to get uglier and uglier
  • ernest_t_bass
    Interesting read:

    http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304315004579381463769362886
  • JD413
    So basically, we're fucked?
  • gut
    Comcast has a healthy operating margin @20%, but not out of line vs. competition/industry.

    So not shocking, nor evil, that they are taking steps to recapture revenues from competitors who are using their own services to eat their lunch. There are obviously other approaches that would probably better align with consumer demands (such as metered service). Neither Netflix nor the consumer should be harmed because someone watches one 2gig movie a month.
  • Devils Advocate
  • I Wear Pants
    gut;1583939 wrote:Comcast has a healthy operating margin @20%, but not out of line vs. competition/industry.

    So not shocking, nor evil, that they are taking steps to recapture revenues from competitors who are using their own services to eat their lunch. There are obviously other approaches that would probably better align with consumer demands (such as metered service). Neither Netflix nor the consumer should be harmed because someone watches one 2gig movie a month.
    Yes it is evil.

    I pay for my connection at a certain level of speed. Netflix pays for it's bandwidth as well. This is extortion. If they didn't have regional monopolies they would absolutely not be able to pull this shit. And the "we payed for network improvements therefore we're entitled to do this" argument is bullshit since they're received billions and billions from taxpayers.
  • dlazz
    I Wear Pants;1584134 wrote:Yes it is evil.

    I pay for my connection at a certain level of speed. Netflix pays for it's bandwidth as well. This is extortion. If they didn't have regional monopolies they would absolutely not be able to pull this shit. And the "we payed for network improvements therefore we're entitled to do this" argument is bullshit since they're received billions and billions from taxpayers.

    I've tried arguing with gut before. It's a waste of time. He is stuck in his mindset and you won't convince him otherwise, no matter how much logic or reasoning you throw his way.

    I'm convinced he works for one of the big ISP's.
  • Pick6
    JD413;1583852 wrote:Also, is this a wired connection, or wireless?
    Its wireless. I believe the turbo is supposed to be up to 20 or 30. Doubt my router is good enough to get that anyways. Just was pointing out that its been very slow at times after this deal has been announced. Uncommon. I usually never have problems with their internet. Now cable on the other hand...
  • Midstate01
    I have turbo and wireless gives me 22 d/l 3u/l
  • gut
    I Wear Pants;1584134 wrote:Yes it is evil.
    Not it's not, supply & demand is the word you were looking for. For a massive buyer, such as Netflix, it is not uncommon to have special supply agreements.

    I Wear Pants;1584134 wrote:Netflix pays for it's bandwidth as well
    You answered your own question. Not sure why you are arguing. Regional "monopolies" or not, they are not receiving monopoly rents, so your claim of "extortion" is total bull.

    If Netflix is going to use Comcast infrastructure to be a content provider, then that would imply a infrastructure surcharge that a consumer would not be paying. Because really what Netflix is doing here is free riding off the infrastructure investment to undercut Comcast content overhead.
  • gut
    dlazz;1584135 wrote:IHe is stuck with what he has learned about economics, no matter how much uneconomic and irrational reasoning you throw his way
    fixed it for ya

    LMFAO "convinced he works for an ISP"...why does the entitlement complex make people so ignorant? The idea that Comcast is an evil extrotionist here is such a gross oversimplification of the dynamics at play as to be simply totally wrong.
  • dlazz
    gut;1584214 wrote:Not it's not, supply & demand is the word you were looking for.
    Supply and demand isn't applicable to bandwidth since there's virtually unlimited supply.

    That is the key point you keep overlooking.
  • I Wear Pants
    gut;1584214 wrote:Not it's not, supply & demand is the word you were looking for. For a massive buyer, such as Netflix, it is not uncommon to have special supply agreements.
    Supply and demand only applies to things that have a limited supply. Bandwidth is not like that, once you have the cables laid you can transfer unlimited amounts of data at whatever bandwidth your cables support.
    You answered your own question. Not sure why you are arguing. Regional "monopolies" or not, they are not receiving monopoly rents, so your claim of "extortion" is total bull.

    If Netflix is going to use Comcast infrastructure to be a content provider, then that would imply a infrastructure surcharge that a consumer would not be paying. Because really what Netflix is doing here is free riding off the infrastructure investment to undercut Comcast content overhead.
    How is Netflix free riding? They're paying for access to the bandwidth, their data acts no differently on the network than my data (except when Comcast fucks with it).

    Comcast's arguments only make sense if you don't understand how the internet actually works.
  • JD413
    Pick6;1584187 wrote:Its wireless. I believe the turbo is supposed to be up to 20 or 30. Doubt my router is good enough to get that anyways. Just was pointing out that its been very slow at times after this deal has been announced. Uncommon. I usually never have problems with their internet. Now cable on the other hand...
    Your router should be able to handle 20 down with ease. I'm guessing it's a wireless N? Who's the manufacturer?

    Use Speedtest.net to check the speed of your wired connection (most likely your computer). If you're hitting advertised speeds, then the problem is your router. Changing the settings on your router could make a huge difference, especially if your within close proximity of another router.
  • JD413


    This is my wireless speed tested using the Ookla Speedtest app. I'm using the 5Ghz band of a Linksys dual band wireless router with maximized settings.
  • Jawbreaker
    I am all for making a profit but when you are paying for bandwidth, at a premium compared to other parts of the world, you shouldn't have your packets prioritize for services the ISP wants you to use or not use. I pay for an Internet connection and not for someone to tell me what traffic gets priority over another. I can handle that on my own network.

    The FCC really screwed up on this net neutrality bit.
  • derek bomar
    The FCC as I understand it could fix this today. Just treat the ISPs as common carriers, and then the FCC would have the authority to enforce network neutrality. However I'm fairly certain that thanks to corporate lobbying, this won't happen. Which is sick.