Washington Post: Cable Firms Faulted For Restrictions On Internet Service. With the Bush administration deciding that the issues should be settled at the FCC and not through legislation, the agency has become a lobbying locus. More than 80 filings from industry and consumer organizations were received on the topic of cable-modem service alone. [Tomalak's Realm]
I'm glad someone is starting to take notice of the Accepable Use Policies and the many restrictions that the cable companies place on Internet users. The biggest problem with these restrictions is that they severely limit innovation. Ultimately, this hurts the cable companies, because they really need a killer app to drive subscriber growth.
The Internet is all about computers being connected to each other and about the tremendous value that results from that connectivity. Unfortunately, I believe the cable companies -- actually most big technology companies -- take a slightly different view: the Internet is about providing various services to consumers who use PCs.
A guy on Slashdot posted an interesting message about how he uses his always on Internet connection. His computer apparently has the ability to pick up the caller ID of his incoming phone calls. He uses a web browser, from work or from wherever he happens to be, to connect to the computer in his home and check the caller IDs of those who have called. That's a truly innovative idea! While you're away, you can check back to the house and see who has called since you've been away! That's exactly the kind of innovation that is prohibited by the restrictions placed by Comcast and other cable companies. I have often envisioned a personal HTTP server, password protected, that allows one to install various plug-ins that provide interesting services via an always-on Internet connection. Checking your caller ID logs is just one such service. With such a server running, you could also check your new or stored email or your voice mail (stored on your hard drive). You could check that your home security system is operating correctly and has not been breached. You could store your files that you work on while on the road (WebDAV would be good for that). You could set up a mirroring/peering system with friends or relatives that encrypts important files on your computer (and all your peers' computers) and duplicates them to the hard drives of all your peers -- a kind of transparent backup system. All of these possibilities are prohibited by restrictions placed by the cable modem ISPs.
Posted by Doug Sauder at June 29, 2002 12:03 PM