I am sure you have seen the ads running on national television networks saying that Google wants to kill the internet. How idiotic a concept that Google and Amazon would want to kill creativity, what made them worth more than Ford and GM. Creativity and innovation is what makes companies succeed and they understand that point.The problem is Net Neutrality is pretty confusing, especially for the normal internet user. What the bill is actually is different depending on whom you speak to and what their agenda happens to be.
I have been reading a lot on this subject and I think I can help you understand if you are still confused. The facts are below, you can use these to decide for yourself what you think is right…
The Telcos who want to pass a bill to create tiers online…
- The internet is basically managed by the major telecom companies. There are four companies that largely control the last mile into our homes in this country, two telcos and two cable companies.
- These effective duopolies want congress to pass a bill to create tiered pricing that would be passed on to the businesses for tiered service
- The telcos want to continue to charge consumers for their bandwidth based on their access speed.
- The telcos claim these additional charges will help to improve their businesses
The people/groups opposing the bill…
- Want to keep the pipes equal to all businesses
- Start-ups will have the same access to consumers as the larger Google and Amazon’s of the world
Other facts…
- The US is one of the lowest ranked countries in telecom infrastructure and service.
- The telcos continue to pull in record profits and pay their executives at the highest tier in the world.
- The telecom industry is in the top four in lobbying and political donations
- Today there is limited competition for internet access
So overall the telcos want to charge the users and the services. They want to say to corporate America… ‘If you want to provide a faster connection to people, pay us a lot more, if you want to be really slow then don’t pay us as much.’
The reasons I don’t like the idea is because of a few points…
- The small start-ups will not be able to compete with larger corporation, thus killing some of the innovation.
- The consumer has no control, if they want to access NYTimes.com but the New York Times does not pay for the better service the access will be very slow
- There are no other options. If you are a business or a consumer and don’t like the idea of a really slow NYTimes.com you have no other place to go.
Also - this post helps to put the situation in common terms.
Normally I would be fine with the open market concept and charging for what you get, but the problem is the Telcos are duopolies, they don’t innovate, and they are just looking to make more money by double-dipping.
If you want to read more, check out these resources…
Save The Internet - Fight for Internet Freedom
Internet Neutrality – Tough Issue - Tom Evslin
America’s Antiterrorist Network - Tom Evslin
