[nadocrew]

What if your phone company charged you more to call/text specific companies or people? Or offered plans where you can only call specific companies for a reduced rate?

It would be very difficult for new companies to enter the market because people would not be able to call new companies, since they aren't under specific plans. The established players could effectively block new competition or make it incredibly expensive to enter the market.

[miguelrochefort]

What exactly do you recommend we should do instead? Make all service providers 100% neutral?

- All car dealerships should sell all brands of car.

- All grocery stores should sell all foods.

- All music streaming services should stream all songs.

- All movie streaming services should stream all movies.

- All movie theatres should play all movies.

- All phone companies should let you call all numbers for free.

- All radio stations should play all songs.

- All TV channels should play all shows.

- All cable providers should offer all channels.

- All devices should support all operating systems.

- All airlines should provide flights to all airports

- All stores should sell the same items for the same price.

I have yet to find anyone who supports a majority of the above statements, or is able to explain how they differ from net neutrality.

[bulatb]

The tone and manner of your argument don't make think you're interested in understanding the opposing side. Trying to debate with people who insist the structure of the issue is exactly what they see though their ideological lens is unproductive and exhausting.

Your questions don't get answered not because they're devastating to the pro-neutrality position but because they don't address at all what net-neutrality proponents actually believe or why.

[nadocrew]

If all of the above were true it would be great for new companies and great for consumers with the downside of being unreasonably expensive to the middlemen (car dealerships, grocery stores, etc.). I would say the same thing doesn't apply to internet companies. It's not unreasonably expensive for them to carry all websites and in fact they are making great profits. I don't think the internet companies gaining more profit (by not being neutral) is worth the consumer and new company benefits lost.

The other major issue is competition. All the above examples have a lot of competition, but internet companies are a lot of times monopolies and duopolies. The consumer has no choice but to use them.

[miguelrochefort]

> What if your phone company charged you more to call/text specific companies or people? Or offered plans where you can only call specific companies for a reduced rate?

It's very common for carriers here to give unlimited calls to 5-10 people of your choice. Likewise, it's often cheaper to call people on the same network you are.

A lot of companies have 1-800 numbers you can call for free.