Net Neutrality: What you should know..
Net Neutrality is the simple idea that your network provider (ISP) should not discriminate between websites i.e. provide a better connection to one while providing a poorer connection to another. For example, if you were to log on to the Net, you would expect to be able to access Google and Yahoo equally well (provided there is no trouble on Google or Yahoo’s servers). What if another search engine decided to pay your ISP so that you, the customer could access this new website easily, while Google and Yahoo became painfully slow to access because they did not pay your ISP? This may sound outrageous but companies like Verizon believe that websites should have to pay to be guaranteed access on the customer end.
Service providers like Verizon are worried that Voice-over-IP services like Skype or Vonage will cause customers to move away from more traditional telephony methods that are the bread-and-butter business for Verizon or SBC. If Vonage is using Verizon’s network to provide you telephony access, why shouldn’t Verizon get a share of the pie, you might argue. The answer is, no one is getting a free lunch; Vonage connects to the Internet using a very fat pipe that they pay for, and the customer pays Verizon for their broadband access. You pay a monthly bill so that you can get flat Internet access, not just access to certain ISP-approved websites and services.
Attempts to get around Net Neutrality have been defeated in Congress previously, but as ISPs see their traditional business methods crumble, they will attempt to get legislative support in the future. Both websites and customers have a lot to lose if neutrality is abandoned – Big companies like Google or Yahoo may be able to afford payments to the vast array of ISPs in use, but smaller websites will simply lose out. No longer will you see small innovative startups providing competing services because ISPs will be able to kill them off by simply degrading access on the customer end. ISPs may spin this differently to gain customer support, but it is in your interest to know the truth.
[Video: Publicknowledge.org]
Posted by Anil on April 23rd, 2006 :: Filed under Uncategorized