Take action to force carriers to open networks and stop crippling devices.

**BlackDynamite** · #1 (**permalink**) 07-02-2009, 09:18 PM

There is a legitimate, well organized, movement underway to force the USA wireless carriers to open their networks, and stop crippling phones. it is being run by the same folks fighting for net neutrality. Please show your support and spread the word.

Read the page:
http://www.freepress.net/freemyphone

Sign the petition (and email Congress and the FCC):
https://secure.freepress.net/site/Ad...rAction&id=333

Follow it on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/FreeMyPhone/89600309468

Follow it on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/freemyphone

Follow it with the RSS feed:
http://www.freepress.net/taxonomy/term/5718/feed

**BlackDynamite** · #2 (**permalink**) 08-03-2009, 12:55 PM

Check this page out:
http://www.savetheinternet.com/

"The Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009 was just introduced in Congress. This important legislation would make Net Neutrality the law once and for all."

Everyone should visit that page and sign the petition.

**boredandtattooed** · #3 (**permalink**) 08-03-2009, 07:45 PM

net neutrality is BAD... u guys must not have children

also, crippling devices how??? theyll still always be allowed to set their specs, and gps blocks,etc if they want..

**BlackDynamite** · #4 (**permalink**) 08-03-2009, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boredandtattooed

net neutrality is BAD... u guys must not have children

also, crippling devices how??? theyll still always be allowed to set their specs, and gps blocks,etc if they want..

I have children. I just don't need anyone else to do the parenting for me, thank you very much. And I certainly don't need anyone parenting ME and treating ME like a child.

And there are plenty of people who agree with me. Read that site and see just how many.

As for them crippling devices- uh, how about Sling Player, Opera Browser, Internet Sharing, and Google Voice all getting banned from the iPhone even though all of them met all of the requirements to get approved? How about carriers (Verizon) locking down the GPS on devices to make you pay for their GPS services? How about the nuerous phones that had WiFi stripped out of them back when carriers were trying to force everyone to have data (now they just flat out require data on just about every phone anyway).

I'm trying to figure out if your post was serious or not. I hope it was in satire, because if you were being serious then you couldn't have possibly been anymore foolish.

If you want to stop speculating and look at real world examples- look at how the USA is always dead last to get a phone. The rest of the world always has it first. And the technology in the USA is way behind everywhere else (we don't even have video calling yet, and one of the largest carriers, T-Mobile, is BARELY starting to launch 3G).

Look at how the landline business was stagnant for like 100 years when AT&T was able to control the devices. In case you forgot, AT&T was the ONLY phone company, and they wouldn't let any device on their network unless it came from AT&T. That held the telco industry back for around 100 years. Look at the services offered in the 1970's. Basic dial tone and long distance. The same as in the 1800's. After the government ended that ridiculous control, suddenly we got dial up modems, fax machines, answering machines, DSL lines, and nowadays we have high def TV coming across those phone lines- with caller ID, conference calling, VOIP, and so on.

Look at how much progress we have made in the telco industry in the last 15-30 years (when AT&T was forced to open up their network). And this is after going the previous 100 years with no progress at all whatsoever.

Be smart and learn from the past. We are making the exact same mistake we made with the landline industry.

**elephant007** · #5 (**permalink**) 08-03-2009, 09:59 PM

Good points

The Government let Bell be a regulated monopoly, they supported Bell in their endevors partially because Bell laid the cable for the telephone network (not saying that they didn't get monies from the Federal Government for help). To this day, even if there are other landline providers, they still pay a fee to Ma Bell for using their network. With exception of Sprint or was it GTE, which laid their own network.
Basically what I'm saying is that Bell didn't let anyone on their network because they didn't have to, not until a public out cry (okay it was most likely backed by huge corporations like most movements)

There are some choices we have, go with a provider that least controls their own network, don't use any devices, get a device, complain and hope action takes place.

Wow anyone remember commercials like these?? HA HA I DO!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlaA4fU2QiI

Boredandtattooed, I can't believe you're against Net Neutrality, I mean being that you're against our government that's broken you want them to control the internet? Asking a legitimate question, not be a smartass

**BlackDynamite** · #6 (**permalink**) 08-03-2009, 10:32 PM

I just hope boredandtattooed understands that all over the rest of the world they have been enjoying their Touch Pro 2's, Diamond 2's, and so on and so forth- WITH video calling, for several months now. There is a reason the USA is way behind the game when it comes to wireless.

Supposedly the richest country in the world, with arguably the most wasteful and impulse spending population on the planet. And yet we're always the last to get the cool phones, and when we finally do get them, they're stripped down shells.

SporkLover · #7 (**permalink**) 08-04-2009, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boredandtattooed

net neutrality is BAD... u guys must not have children

also, crippling devices how??? theyll still always be allowed to set their specs, and gps blocks,etc if they want..

I do, and I find the time to do my own policing. With the appropriate software, you should be able to as well. Besides, I don't need any self censoring, or government provided agency telling me whats allowable or taseful.

Net Neutrality isn't about content, it's about controlling that content to give service provider's unfair advantage over competitors. IE... many cable companies offer Net based Telephony..... it would be anti-competitive and unfair if they allow their voice telephony to clog their pipes, however heavily throttle VOIP apps like vonage.

And as far as crippling devices. Verizon Touch Pro comes with GPS built-in. They purposely disabled it, so that consumers could not take advantage of the internal GPS unit with Commercial or Free navigation solutions.... they try to make you use theirs excluzively.

We want dumb pipes, not service providers pushing their own agendas.

**psycho_maniac** · #8 (**permalink**) 08-04-2009, 03:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boredandtattooed

also, crippling devices how???

what rock are you under? dont you see all the posts about people ******** about the verzion touch pro? wtf man

gprimr1 · #9 (**permalink**) 08-04-2009, 11:30 AM

Personally, I wish the US had went like Europe. One network and mutliple carriers.

**elephant007** · #10 (**permalink**) 08-04-2009, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gprimr1

Personally, I wish the US had went like Europe. One network and mutliple carriers.

Move to Europe... ha ha

I love commercials for products here in the US, they always say things like "Europeans have been doing it for years..." "You know the Germans, they make good stuff" "Patented European Formula"

Everything is better in Europe... well I've lived 10 years of my life in Europe, I'll pick the USA any day! To me, Europe is a nice place to visit

I wish we too would have one network... CDMA