ISP Grande loses appeal as 5th Circuit sides with Universal, Warner, and Sony.

Music publishing companies notched another court victory against a broadband provider that refused to terminate the accounts of Internet users accused of piracy. In a ruling on Wednesday, the conservative-leaning US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit sided with the big three record labels against Grande Communications, a subsidiary of Astound Broadband.

The appeals court ordered a new trial on damages because it said the $46.8 million award was too high, but affirmed the lower court’s finding that Grande is liable for contributory copyright infringement.

    • InverseParallax@lemmy.worldEnglish
      14·
      3 months ago

      It can cover a one-kilometer radius

      So most of the last mile.

      If we try to have cable or telcos do last-mile they’ll fuck us as hard as they possibly can, make laws guaranteeing themselves a permanent monopoly, etc.

      We need wireless as a backup just to keep those worthless fuckers honest, then we can do a hybrid model with some scattered fiber ONTs terminating into wifi nodes.

      What we really need is to string fiber on the power lines, but the telcos and comcast pay the power companies extra to stop that too.

      Break the monopoly power and this all comes tumbling down.

      • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
        4·
        3 months ago

        “And then we can do a hybrid model” congratulations you just invented an ISP.

        “Then we’ll string wires on poles” congratulations you just invented an ISP again.

        • InverseParallax@lemmy.worldEnglish
          23·
          3 months ago

          1. Actually, you’ve invented a cooperative.

          2. Actually, you’ve just made internet access a utility.

          Seriously, you seem really oblivious, the issue isn’t technology, we basically have magic at this point, the issue is breaking the economic model.

          • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
            3·
            3 months ago

            Ok, I still don’t understand how you’ve magically invented access to the Internet Protocol network, but without an Internet Service Provider. Yes, I’ve taken direct action to enable the creation of several WISP networks in the communities I care about. Can you come up with more useless strawmen or do you just want to keep feeling special?

            Edit: upon further review it seems like you think infrastructure just magically maintains itself???

            • InverseParallax@lemmy.worldEnglish
              12·
              3 months ago

              This commoditizes wisps, they aren’t only in places with LoS, or with special hardware, while still using unlicensed band.

              And megaisps have 2 barriers that preserve their market position:

              1. Capital costs

              2. Right of way access they got mostly in the 70s and 80s if not from the original bell rollout

              And weren’t you the one who particularly said ‘last mile’? That’s exactly what this is.

      • NaibofTabr@infosec.pubEnglish
        31·
        3 months ago

        Someone will still have to install and maintain the wireless access points, physically link them to the local network trunk and negotiate for service with the backbone provider… which would just be an ISP, who would sell you access to the WiFi system like a cellular provider.

        This isn’t a problem that can be solved with technology. Monopolies have to be fixed with government oversight.