The Internet as we know it is DYING!!!!
Perhaps a bit too much? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide as we take an in-depth look into
Or.... Perhaps not. Ok. Allow me to explain.....
Network Neutrality , or "Net Neutrality" is a concept upon which today's internet is based. In it's most basic form, it says that all data is treated equal, and no data is given preferential treatment as it is routed from server to destination.
In its basic form, net neutrality is a good thing! It allows all websites, regardless of content or geographic location, to send and receive data equally. This concept is what has made the internet, to use a cliche, "the great equalizer."
Everyone with me so far?? Great! Now it starts to get messy.
Congress is overhauling the US Telecommunications Act to include new technologies. Many companies see this as an opportunity to get beneficial legislation passed. As a result, several issues are on the table that threaten the shape of the internet as we know it....
- Telephone and TV providers see the increase in popularity of voice over IP and Internet video services, and want a piece of the pie. However, with the high-bandwidth requirements for internet video and voice calls, they want a way to ensure that their services don't lag. So, they want to create a prioritizing system where their bandwidth-intensive content gets a higher priority (is delivered faster) than other content.
So far, so good, right? It allows for "quality of service" to be maintained in high-bandwidth applications. So, if your neighbor is making a VoIP call, you might experience a few milisecond lag in Google's load time. No big deal, right? But the plot thickens.... - The big ISPs are starting to see They say something like "a prioritized routing scheme would allow us to offer enchanced content-delivery solutions to our affilates ."
In English: An internet fast lane would allow us to pass data faster for people who pay us.
Basically, they want to be able to charge for fast and reliable delivery of content, and relegate those who don't pony up to the lower priority lanes. Effectively, they could limit a site's bandwidth, to the point that it becomes inaccessable.
That ain't so good, right? But wait, there's more.... Aren't most major ISPs also TV and Telephone providers???? It gets so darn convoluted when companies own each other.... - Finally, there are the content providers, and what they want is radically different from what the other two groups want. Obviously Google, YouTube, Amazon, et al, don't want to have to pay Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner, each Baby Bell, SBC, etc. individually in order for them to pass their data through their routers. That would be like a record label paying ClearChannel to play their song over and over again. Wait a mo..... that's still illegal right? What they want, is for ISPs to be considered common carriers, and be required to treat all data equally.
That's good, right?
So... What we discussed in #1 above is an understandable desire. As a company, you would want to ensure that your content remains a high a quality as you can provide; and if it would stop at that, everything would probably work out all right.
However , as repeatedly demonstrated by corporate America, it would never stop there. If you give control of content delivery regulation over to the big corporations, they will use it to their financial advantage. In fact, it is already beginning....
Back in February, AOL and Yahoo announced pay email service that would prioritize email sent from domains that are willing to pay for it. These e-mails would bypass the spam filters on the provider's mail servers. Basically, AOL and Yahoo said, "Go ahead, you can spam our subscribers, so long as you pay us first."
Then there is the international issue. The internet is not an American commodity. It is not (for the most part) governed or regulated by the US government. However, a vast majority of internet traffic passes through the US, and many international websites are hosted on servers physically located on US soil. So, bandwidth restrictions placed on net traffic in the US would have global implications. However, as the internet backbone functions a lot like the long distance phone system (that is, not owned by any one provider), the majority of these effects would be felt in the so-called "last mile" between the ISP and you.
At any rate, this outcome of this legislation could have a very profound effect on the shape of the internet in this country.
To recap:
- As it stands today, all data on the internet is treated equally.
- Big corporations want, for various reasons, to create a system where some data is delivered faster and more reliably than others.
- Content providers, large and small, don't want to pay twice for their traffic (once for service, once for good service).
- AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are lobbying Congress heavily to prevent any legislation in support of the equal treatment of data on the internet
- Google is heading the fight to retain net neutrality in Congress, but has little backing from other companies.
Sadly, we are pretty close to the end of round one in this thing. The revised telecommunications act has passed the House of Representatives, but each and every attempt to add a net neutrality provision was struck down. The bill has now gone to the Senate.
Last Thursday (June 28), the Senate Communications Committee tied at 11 to 11 on the issue of net neutrality provisions. The bill will now go to the Senate floor for a vote.
So, what can we do???
- Call or write your Senator!!!
I'm doing both, you should to. - Learn more about this issue. Follow the links in this post for more information... then decide for yourself!
- Bookmark my blog! (Shameless self-promotion, I know!) I'm extremely concerned about this issue, and will post more news as it develops.
- Inform others! That is the most vital thing we can do at this stage. This issue has not been discussed in the media to the extend it deserves, and is usually confused when it is mentioned. This can be really confusing, and even I didn't understand it fully until researching this article.
Well folks, that's it for now. Keep your eyes and your mind open!
Learn. Inform. Communicate.
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