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Netneutralityshouldyoucareaboutit?BBCNews

Netneutralityshouldyoucareaboutit?
ByJaneWakefield
Technologyreporter
14May2014 Technology

Whatexactlyisnetneutralityandshouldyoucare?

Netneutralityisatermyoumayhaveheardbut,ifasked
toexplainitinapub,youmightstruggle.
Youmightalsoquestionhowrelevantitistoyouandwhat
youdoonline.
Advocatesoftheprinciplearguethatthedebateabouthow
networksoperateisfundamentallyoneaboutthefutureofthe
internet.
AheadofacrucialUSvoteonthesubject,theBBChas
compiledaguidetoallyouneedtoknowaboutnetneutrality.

Whatisnetneutrality?
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Anyonewhohaseverlookedwithenvyatthefirstclass
carriagesonacrowdedcommutertrainandwondered
bitterlywhyafewgettotravelincomfortwhiletherestare
crammedagainsteachother'sarmpitswillhaveagood
basicunderstandingofnetneutrality.
Onthenetneutralitytrain,allpassengers(iedata)wouldbe
treatedequally,withnospecialcarriagesforthoseableto
pay.
Thislongheldprinciplethatalltrafficonthenetworkshould
betreatedthesamegoesbacktotheverydawningofthe
webandformanyenshrinesthewholeethosofanopen
internet,freefromcorporatecontrol.
Thoseinfavourofnetneutralityarguethattheinternet
serviceproviders(ISPs)thatprovidethepipesforcontent
shouldjustrunthenetworksandhavenosayoverhowand
whatcontentflowstoconsumers,aslongasitislegal.
ButISPsarguethatatieredinternetwherethosecontent
providerspreparedtopaycangoinaninternet"fastlane"is
inevitableintoday'sdatahungrynetworld.

Whyisnetneutralityintheheadlines?

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FCCchairmanTomWheelerhasbeenforcedtorethinkthe
rulesfollowingthecourtcase

Muchofthecurrentdebatewaskickstartedbyalandmark
caseintheUSinJanuary,whichsawISPVerizon
successfullychallengingtheUSFederalCommunications
Commission(FCC)overitsnetneutralitypolicyknown
formallyastheOpenInternetrules.
TheCourtofAppealsstruckdowntwoofthethreeopen
internetrules,effectivelyleavingregulationinlimboand
openingthewayforISPstostartchargingfeestocarry
bandwidthhungrydataonitsnetworks.
Andchargetheydid.InMarchNetflixreluctantlyagreedto
payafeetoComcasttoimprovethespeedatwhichits
servicereachedconsumers'homes.
ThechanginglandscapeforcedtheFCCtorethinkitsrules,
andleaksofwhatitproposedemergedinApril.
Thepartoftherulechangethathassenttheindustryinto
uproarisaproposalforsocalledfastlanes,allowingISPsto
chargecontentprovidersaslongasthetermswere
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"commerciallyreasonable".
ThedetailsofwhattheFCCproposeswillberevealedon15
May.
Itisworthnotingthat,atthisstage,thesearejustproposals
andthatthefullrulesarenotlikelytobeimplementedbefore
theendoftheyear.

Whathasbeenthereactiontotheproposed
changes?

Peopleareprotestingovertheproposedchanges

ItwouldbefairtosaythattheFCChasfounditselfatthe
centreofaconsiderablestormsincedetailsaboutthe
proposedchangesleaked.
ChairmanTomWheeler'smorningmailpilehasgrown
considerably,withhisrecentcorrespondenceincludinga
lettersignedbymorethan100techfirmswithsomeof
biggestnamesintheindustryGoogle,Amazon,Twitter,
Facebookofferingtheirsupport.ThelettercallsontheFCC
toprotectusers"againstblocking,discriminationandpaid
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prioritisation".
Thiswasfollowedbyaverysimilarlywordedletterfromsome
ofthemosthighprofileUSventurecapitalistsandanother
frommorethan80advocacygroups.
Meanwhile,theFCC'smainconsumerhotlineseemstohave
beenoverwhelmedbymessagesabouttheforthcoming
changesandnowaskscallerstowriteanemailtothe
commissioniftheyarecallingaboutnetneutrality.
Andtoreallyhammerthemessagehome,agrowingnumber
ofprotestersaregatheringoutsidetheFCCheadquartersin
Washingtonaheadofthescheduledvoteontheproposalsby
thefivecommissioners.
Alreadytwoofthemhavegotcoldfeetandsuggestedthat
thevotebedelayed.

Whataretheargumentsforchangingtherules?

Areinternetfastlanesinevitableintoday'sdatahungryworld?

ISPsarguethattheinternettodayisaverydifferentbeast
fromthatoftheearlydayswhenthenetneutralityprinciple
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wasenshrined.
Whothencouldhavepredictedthatwewouldallbewatching
videocontentonourcomputersandmobiledevices?
CarryingsuchdataobviouslycostsmoreandISPsarguethat
thecostsofcarryingsuchbandwidthhungryservicescanno
longerbebornebythemalone.
Theysaythatconcernsthattheyplantoblockcontentor
degradenetworkperformanceareunfoundedandthatdata
discriminationinordertoguaranteequalityofserviceis
actuallysomethingconsumersshouldwant.

WhatelsecouldtheFCCdo?
Consumeradvocatesareurgingtheregulatorybodytotake
moredrasticactionandreclassifyinternetserviceproviders
asatelecommunicationservice.
Bydoingso,theinternetwouldbetreatedmorelikeapublic
utility,suchasgasandwater,andthereforesubjectto
heavierregulation.
Itwouldmean,saytheadvocatesofnetneutrality,thatthe
FCChadmoreteethwhenitcametoenforcingnetneutrality.

What'stheviewaboutnetneutralityoutsidethe
US?
EuropeisatoddswiththeUS.
InApril,theEuropeanParliamentvotedtorestrictISPsfrom
chargingservicesforfasternetworkaccess.
Italsoruledthatmobileandbroadbandnetworkproviders
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shouldnotbeabletoblockservicesthatcompetedwiththeir
ownofferings.
Therearesomemorelegalhurdlesforthevotetopassbutit
couldbecomelawbytheendoftheyear.
SloveniaandtheNetherlandshavealreadyenshrinedthe
principleintheirnationallaw.
AndinBrazil,anewlawhasbeensignedbyPresidentDilma
Rousseffwhichestablishesthattelecomcompaniescannot
changepricesbasedontheamountofcontentaccessedby
users.ItalsostatesthatISPscannotinterferewithhow
consumersusetheinternet.
Meanwhile,neighbouringChilewasthefirstcountrytopass
netneutralitylegislation,backin2010.

Whyshouldyoucare?
Dependingonwhichwaythedecisiongoes,itcouldeither
hurtyourwalletoryourwatchinghabits.
Ifnetneutralityisupheld,ISPscoulddecidetopassonthe
costofdeliveringbandwidthhungryupthecostofservicesto
payfordeliveringfasterbandwidthandraisethemonthlyfee
theychargefornetaccess.
Usersmaygetabillthatreflectstheirusage,withthoseusing
videoondemandservicesbeingchargedmore.
If,ontheotherhand,ISPsgettheirwayandareabletostart
chargingfeesforprioritisedaccesstocontentthenusersmay
findthatthosewebsitesnotinthefastlaneareslowtoload.
SomefearthatISPsmightevenblockaccesstorivalservices
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orslowthemdownsomuchastobeunusable.
Consumerscouldalsobechargedmorebythecontent
providersforcedtopaymoretogettheirservicestothemin
quality.
AnyonethinkingthisisaUSonlyissueshouldnotethat,
followingitsagreementtopayafeetoComcastandVerizon,
Netflixputupthepriceforitsmonthlystreamingservicein
EuropeaswellasAmerica

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