cloud technology pub discussions:#1 Net Neutrality
Net neutrality: the principle that all
internet traffic is treated equally on the network.
The Question?
Should the network which delivers our internet be a dumb pipe a standard common
public service just the same as the water supply?
Or?
Open to manipulation and innovation,
driven by free market forces, by the network providers?
The case for neutrality
Allowing network service providers to charge
for content will lead to a multi tier internet.
Super quick highway for those that pay.
Congested country road for the rest.
Advantages for corporate users over the public.
Barrier to start-up providers trying to
compete with the big guns. Reducingapplication innovation and participation.
The case for an unregulated network
The net is global – no one government or body can regulate neutrality.
Application providers already sell tiered services – the internet isn’t neutral before
the traffic hits the network.
Unlike water data is not all equal...
TV streaming has different demands on
a network from a nightly backup of
data.
Voice over IP (VOIP) has different demands from a
google search.
What really is the problem?
The internet network backbone has an abundance of provider choice and
redundancy of bandwidth for premium services to make a negligible difference.
So what is it?
The last mile.
The last mile of delivery to your home or business is the most expensive and with
the least competition...
Do you want your ISP to be able control the data you receive and throttle the
speed…
with you having to pay to keep up with the neighbours.
Which side of the fence?
Neutrality preserves the level playing for providers and consumers both big and small
– encouraging new application innovation and lowers the barrier for participation.
Neutrality threatens to block business providing services with greater speed and
reliability and reduces investment and innovation in the network.
@comparethecloud says: ‘the acid test for net neutrality proponents shouldn’t really be
whether network providers allow the purchase of premium service levels, but
whether in doing so it has an undesirable effect on the service that is received by others
on the standard service”.
What do you think? Contact CTO and let us know.
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