---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20171126170344.GA21988@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2017 12:03:44 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: When The FCC Kills Net Neutrality, Here's What Your Internet Will Look Like By Steven Salzberg The new FCC commission, Ajit Pai, formerly worked as a lawyer for Verizon. His plan to eliminate net neutrality is a bigger gift to Verizon than anything he's ever done before. In just a few weeks, the FCC will vote to eliminate net neutrality. The vote isn't in doubt: with Pai in charge, the anti-neutrality votes have a 3-2 edge. Without net neutrality, Internet service providers will be able to charge web companies for "fast lanes," which they can't do now. Smaller companies and individual's websites may be slowed down so much as to render them unusable. The biggest service providers (Netflix, Google, Amazon, and others) will have to cough up extra money, but the consumers won't see any of that - all the benefits will go to the ISPs. Consumers will see their rates go up. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2017/11/26/when-the-fcc-kills-net-neutrality-heres-what-your-internet-will-look-like/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <CABFD847-42C7-4D62-BC30-DC65FE2A156E@roscom.com> Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2017 01:20:03 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Staggering Variety of Clandestine Trackers Found In Popular Android Apps Staggering Variety of Clandestine Trackers Found In Popular Android Apps RESEARCHERS AT YALE Privacy Lab and French nonprofit Exodus Privacy have documented the proliferation of tracking software on smartphones, finding that weather, flashlight, rideshare, and dating apps, among others, are infested with dozens of different types of trackers collecting vast amounts of information to better target advertising. Exodus security researchers identified 44 trackers in more than 300 apps for Google's Android smartphone operating system. The apps, collectively, have been downloaded billions of times. Yale Privacy Lab, within the university's law school, is working to replicate the Exodus findings and has already released reports on 25 of the trackers. https://theintercept.com/2017/11/24/staggering-variety-of-clandestine-trackers-found-in-popular-android-apps/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <yYKdnZtlBLzeh4THnZ2dnUU7-N_NnZ2d@posted.internetamerica> Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2017 01:22:43 -0600 From: gordonb.d53uq@burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) Subject: Re: CenturyLink facing pit bull of a lawyer with a record of biting over billing questions > CenturyLink customers across Central Florida complained to the Orlando > Sentinel in August that their bills jumped higher every month, they > were paying for services never ordered and they were quoted one price > and billed another. Centurylink needs to credit customers (and past customers) with money to conduct an independent audit of each month's bill every month. How much would that cost for auditors? $1,000 a bill? For example, everyone's January, 2017 bill should be audited once a month for at least 100 years. (Total cost: not allowing for inflation over 100 years, $1,200,000 for the January, 2017 bill) Why? To make sure that Centurylink isn't attempting to make retroactive changes to bills. Now, for a 10-year customer, that's 120 monthly bills and a total audit cost of $144 million. For each customer. And it goes up every time a customer has another monthly bill. With this in place, it's fairly obvious that Centurylink won't be getting any revenue except from the huge corporate accounts. How long has Centurylink existed? I'll also suggest that if Centurylink needs to change prices, or advertising, they should be required to use the same method laid out in the USA Constitution for amending the Constitution. This seems to take typically 12-36 months, with the rather extreme outlier of the 27th amendment which took 2,436 months (203 years). However, I can't see Congress getting excited about Centurylink prices or bothering to vote on them, so maybe they won't get price changes passed in under 203 years. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20171126171715.GA3669@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2017 12:17:15 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: On Net Neutrality, Here's What AT&T, Verizon, Charter, and Comcast Say Does your internet provider support a free and open internet? By Paige Leskin Net neutrality nears a step closer to its death each day as the Federal Communications Commission's December 14 vote nears without any barriers in sight. The repeal of these Obama-era internet protections would signal the end of a free and open internet, and the imminent rise of major internet providers that can control access and speed as they see fit, unless Congress steps in. One of the major issues lies in the monopoly that the top internet service providers have on access. Four corporations - Comcast, Charter, AT&T, and Verizon - account for about 76 percent of the 94.5 million internet subscribers in the United States, as of 2017's third fiscal quarter, according to a report from the Leichtman Research Group. While conservatives say net neutrality is an unnecessary regulation, these ISPs will be able to force companies to pay for speed, shape internet access, and block websites as they see fit. The FCC's move would also take away a slew of consumer protections that let them dispute unfair prices and maintain privacy. https://www.inverse.com/article/38734-net-neutrality-att-verizon-charter-comcast -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20171126172636.GA20471@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2017 12:26:36 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: FAA Approves AT&T's Use of Drones to Deliver Cell Service in Puerto Rico Telecommunications giant AT&T has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to deploy a drone referred to as Cell on Wings or Flying Cow in Puerto Rico with a view to restoring cellular service following devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. According to the Federal Aviation Administration drone Pulse Vapor 55 works in a similar manner to a cell tower offering internet, data and voice services with the only major difference being that it is suspended in the sky. The drone covers an area measuring 40 square miles and can fly to a height of 200 feet above ground. Since Hurricane Maria hit the U.S. territory two months ago, Puerto Rico has been struggling to regain full use of communications service. By late last week 39% of cell sites were still not in service according to the Federal Communications Commission. http://techknowbits.com/2017/11/26/atts-use-of-drone-to-offer-cellular-service-in-puerto-rico-approved/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Mon, 27 Nov 2017