It’s undeniable that the freewheeling nature of the Internet is behind the exponential growth that it has experienced. It was a communications platform that was unencumbered by corporate overlords, free from gatekeepers that enabled people around the world to communicate with each other. However the gatekeepers of old have always tried to claw back some semblance of control at every point they can by imposing data caps, premium services and charging popular websites a premium to give their customers preferred access. Such things go against the pervasive idea of Net Neutrality that is a core tenant of the Internet’s strength however the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the USA is looking to change that.
FCC chairman Tom Wheeler has announced today that they will be seeking to classify Internet services under their Title II authority which would see them regulated in such a way as to guarantee the idea of net neutrality, ensuring open and unhindered access. The rules wouldn’t just be limited to fixed line broadband services either as Mr Wheeler stated this change in regulation would also cover wireless Internet services. The motion will have to be voted on before it can be enacted in earnest (and there’s still the possibility of Congress undermining it with additional legislation) however given the current makeup of the FCC board it’s almost guaranteed to pass which is a great thing for the Internet in the USA.
This will go a long way to combatting the anti-competitive practices that a lot of ISPs are engaging in. Companies like Netflix have been strong armed in the past into paying substantial fees to ISPs to ensure that their services run at full speed for their customers, something which only benefits the ISP. Under the Title II changes it would be illegal for ISPs to engage in such behaviour, ensuring that all packets that traverse the network were given the same priority. This would then ensure that no Internet based company would have to pay ISPs to ensure that their services ran acceptably which is hugely beneficial to Internet based innovators.
Of course ISPs have been quick to paint these changes in a negative light, saying that with this new kind of regulation we’re likely to see an increase in fees and all sorts of things that will trash anyone’s ability to innovate. Pretty much all of their concerns stem from the fact that they will be losing revenue from the deals that they’ve cut, ones that are directly in competition with the idea of net neutrality. Honestly I have little sympathy for them as they’ve already profited heavily from investment from the government and regulation that ensured competition between ISPs was kept at a minimum. The big winners in all of this will be consumers and open Internet providers like Google Fiber, things which are the antithesis to their outdated business models.
Hopefully this paves the way for similar legislation and regulation to make its way around the world, paving the way for an Internet free from the constraints of its corporate overlords. My only fear is that congress will mess with these provisions after the changes are made but hopefully the current incumbent government, who has gone on record in support of net neutrality, will put the kibosh on any plans to that effect. In any case the future of the Internet is looking brighter than it ever has and hopefully that trend will continue globally.
