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wasoxygen  ·  2323 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: FCC plans to vote to overturn U.S. net neutrality rules in December

That image appears in a Quartz article which quotes the FCC chairman expressing concern that net neutrality rules hinder expansion of service to low-income, urban and rural areas.

The proposal to scrap the rules "has sparked a backlash by critics who say it will result in a rich and poor internet." It seems to me that the critics want to keep the rich internet that they are willing to pay for and don't care about less-expensive options that might be attractive to cost-sensitive customers.

Vodafone in Portugal offers a rich menu of choices at various price points.

Within the six offerings there are further options to pay more and get more. For example, under the Up Total plan you can pay

  €12 for 0.2 GB

€14 for 1 GB

€17.50 for 3 GB

€21 for 3 GB plus an additional 20 GB for selected "apps", the popular time sinks

A customer paying €17.50 can use three gigabytes for whatever they want. Paying an extra 3.5 euros makes an additional 20 GB available for the popular apps.

The fine print explains that usage beyond the limit will be billed at the base rate.

    Os clientes são informados por notificação Push da app My Vodafone ou SMS sempre que forem atingidos 80% dos dados de internet incluídos e quando esgotar o pacote de dados de internet. Depois de esgotarem os 20 GB de acesso às apps indicadas, aplica-se o tarifário base de internet do cliente ou a tarifa de internet extra.

    Customers are informed by Push notification of the My Vodafone app or SMS whenever 80% of the internet data included is reached and when the internet data packet is exhausted. Once you have exhausted the 20 GB of access to the apps listed, the client's internet base rate or the extra internet rate apply.

It looks like a great deal for anyone who uses those apps a lot, but customers who want a minimal connection can get it cheaper.

I can't find a source for the screen shot posted on Twitter, so I can't check the details.

But I fail to comprehend why anyone believes that rules restricting what choices providers can offer will improve competition, prices, or variety, especially for cost-sensitive customers who might prefer not to pay for the bandwidth necessary for file sharing and video streaming.

Hubski's position appears to be mainly concerned with anal rape.