I really wish someone could, in all seriousness, give me the TL-DR summary on why a data cap from my ISP is necessary. Everything I’ve read about the subject from a US perspective just says caps are needed in order to provide “fair”, tiered services at different price points based on speed and usage. Meaning, they want a reason to make us pay more for the privilege of watching Hulu and Netflix.

Yes, I get it. I was born in the era when the internet wasn’t found in most homes, and the infrastructure to use it, when you could, had to be over a telephone line. I have memories of trying to download songs and pictures and having to start over because the call waiting bleep interrupted my download. I even, remember the first taste of high-speed internet I had in college when I could download an entire album in 5 minutes. Oh, the joys!

But that was 20 years ago. 2021 has a high-speed net capable device in every pocket, a smart TV in every home, and 80-year-old grandmothers asking their children how to post selfies on Instagram.

You would think that during this time of technological advancement, big communication would get its act together and say, “Let’s just open the pipes up for everyone and charge for specialized internet services.” But no, the monied powers feel that its their right to milk every drop of our Triply taxed incomes out of our pockets because they want to offer tiered access to what has become a public utility.

I’m not smart enough to know the answer. I just know that there’s a slippery slope going on and that if we’re not careful, we’ll end up like a few communist countries I could name.