May 8, 2014 – In advance of the FCC’s Proposed Rule Making set for May 15, 2014, ESQwire.com’s Jason Schaeffer was interviewed by Popular Mechanics to give a primer on Net Neutrality.
Over the past few years, we’ve enjoyed a relatively good run of open, and for the most part, unrestricted access to lawful online video and content.However, we may be on the verge of a major shift in the way we access content on our beloved Internet.In the wake of the January, 2014 D.C. Court of Appeals ruling in the Verizon Case, striking down the FCC’s ability to enforce its anti-blocking and anti-discrimination provisions, we are in the midst of a potentially great shift.
This matters for you, me and anyone in the domain name industry because until now startups and content giants (like Netflix and Google) were essentially treated equally. If you wanted to read this blog or watch a YouTube video your Broadband provider did not give priority to one over the other. This may all change on May 15th -it’s already changing with Netflix striking deals with Comcast and Verizon to pay for direct connections and, in turn, better video performance for us.Do we really want a “two tiered” Internet with those that have preferred access over the little guys?If the a start-up or small business can’t pay for access or speed how can they compete?It’s time to for us to pay attention and time to speak up to your representatives and the FCC.
Historically, your ISP or Broadband provider was providing “information services,” like the old AOL that was a portal for email, news and content. However, today, when you access Comcast or Verizon, you are really just looking to transmit or receive information through their cable or “pipes.” If that’s the reality of the marketplace, broadband should be regulated like telecommunications and subject to common carrier regulation. Then again, as Jason warns, there are arguments against strict regulation too. Either way, if you enjoy the Internet we need to watch this closely. To get up to speed, read Jason’s primer by clicking here: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/news/why-the-fcc-cant-or-wont-just-enforce-net-neutrality-16773072?click=pm_latest
Leave a Reply