The article, “Does faster broadband really matter?� starts out with the notion that a faster Internet doesn’t really matter (at this time, anyway) for the majority of users. And that the people and businesses who do require faster connections should be willing to pay for it.
The idea of those who do prefer a faster connection (for example people who like to watch streaming video from the BBC) paying for faster service seems at first to be relatively benign. However, when you look under the surface, it may in fact be part of a larger plan by the network operators that could end up creating a "two-tier" Internet. This plan may be the beginning of the end for "network neutrality."
Network neutrality is the concept that no particular type of traffic on the Internet should receive preferential treatment for speed or access. It was the design for network neutrality that made the Internet possible in the first place. It keeps ISPs from becoming liable for the content that may pass through their systems.
However, an article by the BBC examines the fact that many service providers are starting to prioritize their own content at the expense of those from rivals. Many countries have started or are considering blocking Voice-over-IP (VOIP) traffic in order to protect the phone companies from competition.
I’m trying to decide whether I have a problem with this. On the one hand I don’t like companies with deep pockets buying advantages. The equal access the Internet provides had spawned thousands of small businesses, provided jobs and livelihoods for many of us. Charging more or paying more for a better or different service is key to capitalism. I like that. Marginalizing those who can’t pay as much – or shunting that traffic onto a slower, less responsive network is not going to work either. We understand that you wait longer at an intersection for a green arrow to make left hand turn than you would if you were making a right turn. That seems logical and fair. Does this?
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