or we could you know, just have many ISP's instead of just a few big ones. Not that i'm against a different topology, but breaking them up is easier to ask for / implement.
The solution to this problem is extremely simple. Government runs the last mile fiber to EVERY home. Then* pull it back to a central location and let ISPs compete for service there where the barrier to entry isn't billions of dollars.
If we can provide a mesh network that is as effective as older topologies but cheaper, the problem is solved, period.
If we break up ISPs into smaller ISPs, then we have to maintain that solution, as giant companies are constantly lobbying government to allow them to re-establish monopolistic practices. History tells us anti-monopolistic policies don't last. The split and re-merging of phone companies happened in under a decade. Glass-Steagall worked for a long time, but finally died.
I have no argument that there are major technical hurdles to clear before we can have mesh networks, but once those hurdles are cleared, the power is decentralized into the hands of individuals. Individuals can join together to force through legislation, but the power remains centralized in government, and maintaining that is extremely difficult.
To be clear, I give money to the EFF and I've called my congressmen on issues like net neutrality: I don't mean to downplay the importance of these efforts. But these are temporary solutions, workarounds to the problem, rather than solutions.
I'd be interested in trying it, and it might be great for otherwise-expensive "last-mile" situations, but...
I play video games, and I can't imagine what the latency would be like over a mesh network. So many hops, so many pieces of questionable cheap home hardware handling my data...
dboreham|10 years ago
meesterdude|10 years ago
tw04|10 years ago
REAL competition.
iamsohungry|10 years ago
If we can provide a mesh network that is as effective as older topologies but cheaper, the problem is solved, period.
If we break up ISPs into smaller ISPs, then we have to maintain that solution, as giant companies are constantly lobbying government to allow them to re-establish monopolistic practices. History tells us anti-monopolistic policies don't last. The split and re-merging of phone companies happened in under a decade. Glass-Steagall worked for a long time, but finally died.
I have no argument that there are major technical hurdles to clear before we can have mesh networks, but once those hurdles are cleared, the power is decentralized into the hands of individuals. Individuals can join together to force through legislation, but the power remains centralized in government, and maintaining that is extremely difficult.
To be clear, I give money to the EFF and I've called my congressmen on issues like net neutrality: I don't mean to downplay the importance of these efforts. But these are temporary solutions, workarounds to the problem, rather than solutions.
bluedino|10 years ago
JustSomeNobody|10 years ago
Personally, I would love to see some sort of decentralization.
elbigbad|10 years ago
I think the downvotes are because the poster basically handwaved a complex problem by saying that THE solution is mesh networks.
blakeyrat|10 years ago
I play video games, and I can't imagine what the latency would be like over a mesh network. So many hops, so many pieces of questionable cheap home hardware handling my data...