What is Net Neutrality?
Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes
http://live.pirillo.com/ - The idea of Network Neutrality is very good… in theory. Some companies, however, don’t want Net Neutrality
Network Neutrality refers to a principle that is applied to residential broadband networks, and potentially to all networks. When you hear the word neutral, you tend to think of equal opportunities for everyone, right? Not so in the case of many companies. They WANT to favor certain customers, and be able to allocate more bandwidth to them.
Net Neutrality is anti-consumer. It promotes the best interest of sellers by lowering their cost of distribution. Broadband service providers would be the ones to gain the most from ending Net Neutrality because they could collect fees from content providers.
Google has gone to the FCC in favor of Net Neutrality. “The Federal Communications Commission must be given power to prevent broadband providers from doing things like charging content providers extra for the privilege of faster delivery or other preferential treatment.”, according to a CNET article on the Senate decision to veto this bill.
Other than this, consumers have really no special interest groups fighting for Net Neutrality. I do… in my own boisterous, opinionated way. I firmly believe that each and every person should have equal opportunities when surfing the Internet. Why should it always come down to large companies, and those with deep pockets?
Want to embed this video into your blog? Use this code:
Formats Available: MPEG4 Video (.mp4) Flash Video (.flv) MP3 Audio (.mp3) Microsoft Video (.avi)
Private Domain Registration from GoDaddy is a smart thing to do. When you register a domain, your contact information is immediately made available to anyone who wants to see it. Plus, as a listener of The Chris Pirillo Show, enter code CHRIS2 when you check out, and save an additional $5 off any order of $30 or more. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy!
3 Comments
bayoujim
August 19th, 2007
at 9:43am
Large companies do not want equal Internet access for all.
Why, profit without regard to what is best for the American people. Corporations have a flawed business model.
There is nothing in the structure of a corporation that says they have to consider what is best for the citizens of the USA. This flawed corporate business model is very serious because corporations now control and run our government with their money for political campaigns, bribery (in its many forms), and lobbyists.
The real threat to the American people is not in Iraq.
Ncrns
August 20th, 2007
at 3:32pm
Its not just large companies who are against government regulations like Net Neutrality though bayoujim. I do some work with HOTI and there are concerns for things like Healthcare information that should be prioritized, or there are things like the iPlayer from the BBC that will kill bandwidth if it goes the way its going too. There are a lot of concerns out there and you should be sure to check out all the sides of this issue.
Al
August 21st, 2007
at 6:18pm
“I firmly believe that each and every person should have equal opportunities when surfing the Internet.”
Does this mean you want a socialist state where everyone is treated exactly the same? If not, what do you mean? There is only equal opportunity to select a service provider according to one’s ability to pay for the desired level of service. People are not equal, opportunity is not equal and neither will ever be.
“Why should it always come down to large companies, and those with deep pockets?”
Because that is the way of free markets and capitalism. If there were no companies willing to use their deep pockets to build the infrastructure, there would be no Internet as we know it. Only those individuals with deep pockets would have access. To achieve Net Neutrality you need to have more regulation, and that means government regulation. But I think we all know what happens when government gets too involved with things that should never be part of governance.
If a provider wants to charge different rates for different entities, that should be the provider’s decision. If his pricing differentiation allows him to keep or increase market share, then it means that his pricing structure has been accepted by the market, if not, then the corporation will lose money and go out of business leaving his customers without access. This can easily reduce the number of providers and cost the consumer more. If customers do not like the price differentiation, then they can look for other providers. One way or another someone pays for the Internet, and some will always pay more than others.