[GRLUG] FiOS -- NOT

[nivardus]

Higher speeds benefit a lot more than gaming. Streaming video, high
resolution images, 3D content and rich media as a whole is infinitely
hungry for increased bandwidth. The reason why there is no web-wide
demand for 1000 Mbps connections is because consumers don't have them.
Development and distribution of richer web applications are held back
by broadband speed and penetration and vice versa.

Google, a web-service-based company, has everything to gain from a
more capable medium; whereas ISPs' business models are the result of
outdated telecom practices: aggressive construction of newer tech will
only cut profits. Increased web-service company involvement in ISPs
may be the future, as seen with past efforts such as AT&T Yahoo!
internet. FiOS is something odd: a large telecom company taking a
large risk, but outliers happen. I'm disappointed by such a service
not being available in my area but I'm not blaming Verizon.

"What would things be like if we were using ipv6 and ip addresses
weren't at a premium, and if upload speeds were equal to download
speeds?"
-ben.demott at gmail.com

What if everyone using the internet had the ability to share with
others as much as others share with him or her? I think it is
fundamentally important to the success of the net, it's what powers
free software, Wikipedia, and the reason it is the large step in
society's evolution we view it as today. ISPs offer a slanted
subscriber-provider dichotomy, thinking of the internet as cable
television: forbidding any type of hosting on residential connections.