Internet May Be a Human Right, Streaming Content Isn't

Internet May Be a Human Right, Streaming Content Isn't posted: 17/12/2017

by Andy Marken

We will tell the whole world, that we speak, the truth. No force can stop us now, were cool, were badasses, - Harry, True Lies, 20th Century Fox, 1994

Have you noticed that most of the calls you get on your smartphone are from solicitors?

Other than that, not so much!

Voice has been flat for years.

The mobile everything is so embedded in our lives that this holiday season nearly 40 percent of the online purchase were made using smartphones.

Throughout the rest of the year apps, games have been good traffic builders; but the real goldmine is video.

How important is streaming content to wireless providers?

- T-Mobile said, hey, switch and we'll throw in Netflix.

- AT&T countered saying, Switch and we'll give you HBO.

- Someone called Metro PCS said, We'll give you Amazon Prime.

- Verizon said, We don't need that, we've got Yahoo (yahoo!) and go90.

Those Black Friday/Cyber Monday discounts you got were nice; but admit it, in a year or two, when you're hot to upgrade to keep up with the guy on the train next to you, you'll switch providers in the blink of an eye for a better price.

But if you're in the middle of a couple of great series - and they're free - no way are you making the move to yet another provider.

All About Content - For millennials and Gen Zers, the smartphone isn't a phone; it's a portable screen for viewing streaming content no matter where they are. All it requires to do it right is a fast, reliable data stream.

It cost your carrier about $300 to get a customer to move to their network - free something, pay termination fees, etc.

The longer subscribers stick around, the more profitable they are to the carrier.

Sure, it costs the three of them more to lure/hook you with insanely great content; but would you jump at the chance to move to Verizon for Yahoo, go90?

Didn't think so!

According to a recent report by content delivery specialist Limelight Networks, 66 per cent of survey respondents around the globe prefer to stream or download TV shows and movies.

Nearly 30 per cent of respondents cite slow download times, buffering and having to start over as their primary frustrations with downloading content.

When it happens too often, they're ready to move on.

Churn (switching services) kills carriers' bottom-line.

Wireless service alone isn't enough for kids who were literally born with a smartphone in their hands.

Anywhere Content - Folks who grew up with a device in their hands quickly found that it wasn't necessary to sit in front of a TV to watch their entertainment; it was just there. And because they're easier to carry, smartphones have become the screen

They want/expect great content at a realistic price.

And as T-Mobile's COO (chief operating officer) Mike Sievert said, Free is our favorite price.

My kids' too!

Of course, there's bad news/good news on the horizon.

First of all, the U.S.'s FCC (Federal Communications Commission) Ajit Pia said - We're going to restore Internet freedom. - and all the telcos cheered.

Seeing them happy can't be good.

The freedom means:

- Broadband Internet access service is again going to be an information service

- Mobile broadband is no longer a commercial mobile service

- The FCC goes back to supervising the privacy practices of ISPs (Internet Service Providers)

It does away with useless things like:

- Prohibiting broadband providers from blocking lawful content, applications, services

- Prohibiting them from targeting lawful Internet traffic by throttling/slowing it

- Prohibiting providers from favoring or prioritizing content based favors ($$$$)

If all those folks begin binging their Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime content at the same time, we have a problem--even if the telcos say Hey, don't worry; with the new rules, we're not gonna' do the things you probably think we're gonna' do because well because.

Basically, the Internet freedom move puts the power to choose winners/losers in the hands of about five companies in the U.S. that folks love to hate.

You know; Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, etc.

Despite things like Comcast throttling peer-to-peer service, AT&T blocking Apple's video chat service, Comcast charging Netflix for direct access to customers for bandwidth-intensive streaming and AT&T excluding DirectTV from its customer data allocation; the carriers have said they've changed.

Yep, they're going to be open and transparent.

Hello they perfected mediocre service, high prices and poor customer support.

A Ways to Go - While people in almost every country in the world have Internet access, the availability of high-speed Internet for streaming video is still a work in progress.

Despite those minor issues, there's only a limited amount of capacity on their networks.

With everyone rushing to send their streaming content through the already congested pipes, someone's traffic has to degrade.

Guess whose?

Yep, the other guy's.

There are content solutions:

- H.265 codecs use less than half the bandwidth of H.264 streams

- Next-Gen TV standard ATSC 3.0 will improve fixed and mobile streaming and is designed for 5G - higher capacity, higher density service

- Telcos could add more wireless spectrum

If you live in a high-density area like Washington DC, London, Paris, Shanghai, SF Bay Area, Seoul, Tokyo, Sydney, etc.; you have a number service provider options with all kinds of great speed/cost promises to get you to switch.

Bandwidth? Your performance may vary.

Distance Issues - Billions of people around the globe have minimal

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