Is Internet Bandwidth Infinite? Not!

FreePress is in utopian fantasyland in objecting to Comcast's new bandwidth-usage caps -- charging Comcast is profiting from "artificial scarcity" from a lack of broadband competition.

• Artificial Scarcity!
• Internet bandwidth is not infinite -- despite FreePress' utopian fantasy that bandwidth somehow should be infinite in FreePress' perfect world.
  • Any reasonable person understands Internet and broadband networks can not have infinite bandwidth and are not free.
  • Like any infrastructure, Internet/broadband networks are expensive to build and operate, and also require a constant investment of billions of dollars to keep pace with exploding demand.

FreePress is making another big strategic mistake in screaming "artificial scarcity!" in a crowded and congested Internet.

• As I explained in detail in a previous post, "How the FCC Comcast Decision Limits Net Neutrality" -- FreePress' petition against Comcast backfired because the FCC strongly:
  • Limited the traffic to which net neutrality principles applied;
  • Validated the need for reasonable network management; and
  • Suggested that bandwidth usage caps could be a legitimate and useful way to neutrally and reasonably manage a network.

FreePress is picking another dumb fight over Comcast's extremely reasonable caps.

• Comcast is placing a bandwidth usage cap that:
  • Applies to only the top 1 percent of users; and
  • Is roughly one hundred times the average user's usage.
• Comcast's usage cap would allow the montlhly equivalent of:
  • 50 million emails;
  • downloading of 62,500 songs;
  • downloading of 125 movies; and
  • uploading of 25,000 high-resolution digital photos.

FreePress will have a real hard time claiming that this fully disclosed usage limit is not reasonable network management.

Bottom line: It will be interesting to see if the neutralists step on another rake in choosing to scream inequality, unfairness, and free speech infringement in opposition to these relatively huge and obviously reasonable bandwidth usage caps.

• Does FreePress really want to defend extreme bandwidth hogs who are driving the cost up for everybody else at the same time they are arguing for "Internet for Everyone?"
• What do you want FreePress?
  • An utopian fantasy of perfectly unlimited bandwidth usage for bandwidth hogs? Or Internet access for everyone?
  • What are your true colors FreePress?