Yes, I'd tend to flatten my prices unless I could show end-user customers a really easy-to-detect improvement from the high-speed offerings. My across-the-road neighbor was talked into upgrading by Bell Canada to a higher-priced package, and ended up in a 'spirited discussion" about whether they were /obtaining money from him upon a false and fraudulent pretense/ (;-)) --dave On 10/22/22 09:02, David Lang wrote: > long distance phone plans used to be tiered as well, nobody misses > those days. > > eliminating tiers could just mean that people are getting the best > service available in their area (the car analogy they are trying to > use breaks down because you can't get Porsche service in a location > with Chevy infrastructure) > > IMHO, flattening tiers is good as it gives the ISPs more incentive to > use the tools that we've developed here to prevent the traffic from > one individual from interefering with the traffic for another, making > life better for everyone. > > David Lang > > >  On Sat, 22 Oct 2022, David Collier-Brown via Bloat wrote: > >> Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2022 08:56:14 -0400 >> From: David Collier-Brown via Bloat >> Reply-To: David Collier-Brown >> To: bloat@lists.bufferbloat.net >> Subject: [Bloat] Fwd: Broadband Bias >> >> Here's an interesting "rantlet" on inequity in price and service by >> big ISPs, which of course makes me wonder >> >> * if end-users fixing bloat is enough to mitigate lack of IS investment >> * if the markup's research team should be talking to the speed-test >>   sites to collect actual-performance and observed bandwidth data >> >> >> --dave >> >> reference:https://themarkup.org/show-your-work/2022/10/19/how-we-uncovered-disparities-in-internet-deals >> >> >> >> -------- Forwarded Message -------- >> Subject:     Broadband Bias >> Date:     Sat, 22 Oct 2022 12:02:07 +0000 >> From:     Julia Angwin >> To: davecb@spamcop.net >> >> >> >> Broadband Bias >> Poorer and less White neighborhoods get slower speeds >> Hello World >> Hello World >> Dispatches from our founder >> >> Hello World >> >> >> This Week >> Broadband Bias >> >> Hello, friends, >> Imagine shopping for a car and being told that every car on the lot >> is being offered for the same price, but you don’t get to choose >> which car you’ll get. The dealership decides if you walk out with a >> Porsche or a Chevy. >> That’s how some internet pricing in the U.S. works. Most home >> internet plans are offered at a flat base rate, ranging from $40 to >> $60 a month, but what you get for that price varies widely, according >> to a new Markup investigation >> that >> was published this week. >> Reporters Leon Yin and Aaron Sankin analyzed more than 800,000 >> broadband plans >> offered >> across the U.S. from AT&T, Verizon, EarthLink, and CenturyLink, and >> found that the speeds they offered varied from more than 200 megabits >> per second (Mbps) in some neighborhoods to below 25 Mbps in others. >> To put that in simple terms: 200 megabits per second is the >> recommended minimum speed for a household that wants to participate >> in multiple concurrent Zoom calls without interruption. Anything >> below 25 Mbps is not even considered broadband by the Federal >> Communications Commission (FCC). >> Calculated by price per megabit, that means customers are paying >> hugely different prices for the same service. For example, >> CenturyLink offered consumers rates that ranged from 25 cents to  >> $100 per Mbps—which is 400 times greater. >> Chart: Providers offer different speeds for the same price. >> >> And guess which neighborhoods generally got the worst speeds? >> Lower-income, historically redlined areas that were less White. >> In 92 percent of cities in our investigation where broadband speeds >> varied, lower-income neighborhoods disproportionately received worse >> deals. In 66 percent of cities, people of color disproportionately >> received worse deals. And in 100 percent of cities where data was >> available, historically redlined neighborhoods received worse deals. >> Map: In most cities, poorer neighborhoods were offered worse internet >> plans more often. >> >> The amazing thing is that the speed disparities are probably even >> worse than what we found. We calculated these numbers based on the >> speeds that the companies /advertised/on their websites, not the >> speeds that were actually delivered. And as anyone who uses the >> internet knows, speeds are often quite different from what is >> advertised >> —and >> usually not in a good way. >> The telecom companies defended their practices. Mark Molzen, a >> spokesperson for CenturyLink’s parent company Lumen, said, “We do not >> engage in discriminatory practices like redlining and find the >> accusation offensive.” >> AT&T spokesperson Jim Greer said that The Markup’s analysis had >> ignored the company’s low-cost access offerings and participation in >> the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Plan, which provides a subsidy for >> household Internet bills. “Any suggestion that we discriminate in >> providing internet access is blatantly wrong,” he said. >> Verizon spokesperson Rich Young referred inquiries to the industry >> group USTelecom, which said that internet providers can have good >> reasons to charge the same price for slower service. “Operating and >> maintaining legacy technologies can be more expensive, especially as >> legacy network components are discontinued by equipment >> manufacturers,” said USTelecom senior vice president Marie Johnson. >> The findings come at a time when U.S. regulators are looking into >> broadband equity. The FCC is currently drafting rules >> “to >> promote equal access to broadband across the country, regardless of >> income level, ethnicity, race, religion, or national origin.” >> Broadband pricing wasn’t always this way. Companies used to charge >> different prices for different speeds, in what were called “tiers.” >> But in recent years, they have moved toward a single price in what >> the National Digital Inclusion Alliance called in a 2018 report “tier >> flattening >> .” >> Unlike buying a car, however, it’s hard for broadband customers to >> know that they are getting a Chevy and not a Porsche when they pay >> that single, tier-flattened price. >> To buy broadband, you must enter your address into one of the >> telecoms’ websites to see the price, speed, and availability. Very >> few people are likely to enter other addresses into the site to >> compare speeds that their neighbors are getting—and even if they do, >> they aren’t likely to be able to convince the company to lower their >> rate. >> This lack of transparency means that the companies have been able to >> hide the stark disparities from public view. It took Leon and Aaron >> months of work to scrape all the prices from company websites, then >> match them with Census records to analyze which neighborhoods were >> getting which prices. >> It’s hard work, but it’s the important work that journalists must do >> to make these hidden disparities visible to the public. >> As always, thanks for reading. >> Best, >> Julia Angwin >> The Markup >> /(Additional Hello World research by Eve Zelickson.)/ >> >> https://mrkp-static-production.themarkup.org/uploads/2021/11/support_woman_16-9-1280x720.jpg >> >> Support The Markup >> Your donations power our award-winning reporting and our tools. >> Together we can do more. Give now. >> Donate Here >> >> This email doesn’t track you when you open it or click on any links. >> To learn more read our Privacy Policy . >> In order to unsubscribe, click here >> . >> If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can >> subscribe here . >> The Markup - PO Box 1103, New York, New York, 10159, United States of >> America >>