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The FCC document quotes Benjamin Franklin to justify its "catch-all standard" against ISP gatekeepers. The hosts predict that these regulations will lead to metered internet usage and data caps, ultimately making the internet more expensive for consumers. They also anticipate years of litigation from the mobile industry, which argues that the FCC's "tailoring" of Title II regulations is an illegal overreach of its authority.
Comcast's CEO predicts that usage-based billing will be rolled out across the company's footprint within five years. The model involves setting a high "basic level" of usage (e.g., 300-500 GB) and charging for additional "buckets" of data. The hosts argue that this is the inevitable result of net neutrality regulation, as ISPs seek to recoup costs from heavy users like Netflix while maintaining high profit margins.
Comcast's Five-Year Plan for Usage-Based Billing
In a forward-looking statement, Brian Roberts predicts that Comcast will have a "usage-based billing model" rolled out across its entire footprint within five years. He describes pilot programs where users get a base "bucket" of data (e.g., 300GB) and pay for additional increments. Adam highlights this as the "smoking gun" of what the Net Neutrality debate is actually facilitating.
