One real reason Is
the cable and phone companies still want you to buy DSL and cable internet,ect. at very expensive prices. I feel sorry if you live in a rual area.
...
I don't. Sorry I feel that way, but I do. Because in the end, we would end up being taxed or fee'd to give them subsidized broadband.
...
no kidding.... taxpayers will inevitably end up subsidizing this nonsense.
...
Government subsidizes everything else why not broadband.
...
You do realize that we have already paid the taxes for this and the very telecoms arguing against this have profited from those taxes and subsidies?
...
Even if they roll out some sort of great free broadband network I would still rather pay per month to get more bandwidth, privacy (because there are privacy issues that will be brought about because of this) and quality of connection.
If a free broadband network arises that can offer me the same bandwidth and capacity as a dedicated fiber line I'll sign up, until then I'm content to actually pay for my internet service.
-fin
Thales
...
I do not think you understand the privacy issue fully.
Privacy is an elaborate illusion on the internet - the government, At&t, and mark klein have all shown that to be the case.
...
I understand it well enough. I use PGP to encrypt my personal eMail, when I delete pirated material I use secure shredder and run it on DoD-7, back in my wilder days I would string my services through a couple of proxies, spoof a MAC address and hop on someone else's unsecured network. I am actually quite familiar with how to gain privacy, or a measure of it, while on the internet. Good thing I don't use AT&T, too. My ISP actually peers with Level 3 as opposed to AT&T, and my servers use a mix of Level 3, Shaw Cable and MCI.
-fin
Thales
...
yeah because free isps surely have better encryption-cracking abilities. paying $60/mo doesn't buy you any security if you're already enough in the know to be spoofing
...
Encryption-cracking abilities? Do you even know anything about privacy or data security?
-fin
Thales
...
Also like to add that my ISP stipulates that it will not provide my usage information wantonly unless they are subpoenaed. If an ISP is owned, maintained and subsidized by the government they have direct access to your private information, which allows them to bypass the need for a subpoena. And you can bet that every packet you send that contains something of interest to them will be sniffed and, if of interest, stored.
Additionally, what's to stop someone other than the government, some script kiddy nearby, from grabbing your information as it is transmitted wirelessly? Having my own connection, and securing my computer, mitigates most of the risk incurred by sharing the same connection. Yes, yes, I realize that a single line serves...
(continues)
...