[Darla_G]

Net Neutrality - What is it? and Why should I care?

(last edit 6-2-08 7pm)
Net Neutrality is short for Network Neutrality and it represents the future of the Internet in general. Since the World Wide Web (WWW) has come in existence in 1993 it has been based on universal access and the free interchange of information from network provider to network provider.

The Television industries (Broadcast and Cable) have realized that it is a medium that has been in a state of decline while the Internet has continued to grow at a phenomenal rate. A lot of these companies have decided that they need to play a role in how you get to access the Internet. These are the Internet Service Providers (ISPs)


The nation's largest telephone and cable companies -- including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner -- want to be Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow and which won't load at all.


Their ultimate goal would be to tax content providers to guarantee speedy delivery of their data like they can do with cable today. They want to discriminate in favor of their own search engines, Internet phone services, and streaming video -- while slowing down or blocking their competitors.


Instead of an even playing field, they want to reserve express lanes for their own content and services -- or those from other large service providers that can afford the extra expense -- and leave the rest of us on a less than satisfactory connection.


Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, content type, ownership or destination.


We are starting to see the first examples of these policies. In mid April 2008 Virgin Media CEO (the second largest ISP in the UK) , has started his new position by getting everyone up in arms about the long-debated issue of net neutrality. What net neutrality? he essentially asked. He said that there really is no neutrality, that favoritism for certain companies in the industry is already taking place and that the whole ideal of net neutrality is a bunch of BS. He openly admitted that companies willing to negotiate a way to subsidize the costs of their service will get better bandwidth treatment and those who don’t want to foot the bill can expect to be throttled. As a result of these actions there have been boycotts of Virgin in the UK that have been organized, but it remains to be seen how successful they are. Here is a link.

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As a consumer why should I care? You should care because ultimately what suffers is your freedom of choice. Ultimately if the gatekeepers to the Internet don't want you to use Google for instance because they set up a better deal with Yahoo for instance that content could be slowed or maybe even stopped and redirected to another search engine of their choice. Or you may be forced to pay premiums (they are used to those business models from cable tv remember) It is also conceivable that an independent site like this one, Makeuptalk.com could be slowed or made unavailable by one of those gatekeepers.

Additionally when you consider the other types of traffic traveling over our network connections, Voice over IP (VOIP) is the way your service can be bundled in with your Internet Connectivitiy what happens when that voice traffic starts being handled on a prioritized basis.

In the US a bill has recently been sponsored. Tthe bipartisan “Internet Freedom Preservation Act 2008” (HR 5353) was introduced on Feb. 12, 2008 by Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Chip Pickering (R-Miss.)
This bill would protect Net Neutrality and kick off a much-needed public conversation about the future of the Internet. The new bill fully endorses Net Neutrality -- "the longstanding principle that Internet service providers cannot discriminate against Web sites or services based on their source, ownership or destination" -- into the Communications Act. It also requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to initiate meetings on policies to “promote openness, competition, innovation, and affordable, ubiquitous broadband service for all individuals in the United States.” In the US you can sign a petition in support of Internet Freedom Preservation Act 2008” (HR 5353) at this link.

Big phone and cable companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner have been lobbying Congress to kill Net Neutrality bills. They want to exploit their role as a gatekeeper to decide what you can do on the Internet.

I have not found specific statements that McCain or Clinton have made on Net Neutrality but here is an address Obama has made at a speech at Google.

I am currently looking for other information on what is happening in other countries and Australia.

If you have questions or comments feel free to post them.