While the furore of Net Neutrality might not have caught up full swing, here in India (yet), it is a topic under debate in US nonetheless. First off, Net Neutrality is not a technical term. Its a general embodiment of the principle that says ‘all information flowing across the internet should be treated equally’.
- Isn’t that the case now? So, why this debate?
Yes, it is, fortunately! But big corporate ISPs in US -- Verizon, Comcast, AT&T plan to demarcate internet content based on what users principally want and use. They want to offer you personalized preferential usage schemes and you as a user are to select one. With the growth of data intensive services like Facebook and YouTube, ISPs can differentially charge you for them. In plain terms, content on Internet will be demarcated on several basis -- their popularity of usage, the content providers’s terms with the ISPs etc. What this means essentially is : the way you freely access anything and everything today, will no longer be the case. Your purchased package from your ISP might just not support CNN (perhaps due to a conflicting corporate alliance of your ISP with a rival network). theopeninter.net gives a nice lucid visual illustration of this.
Wired.com gives a scary picture of how mobile net neutrality could well be like.! This anti-Net Neutrality campaign helps none (not a bit the end user) but the ISPs. The bigger plan is to make content providers charge for doling out their services to users. Google.com might load slower than say facebook.com. This in the end is going to create camps and parties and thus a fragmented internet. Not exactly what a normal user would want!
- Does this affect me, here in India?
It might not immediately, but it surely will -- eventually. If ISPs in US have their way into regulating internet and its content, this will percolate down to other nations sooner than later. If network speeds within the US donot remain neutral and there is a bifurcation, it is bound to affect global traffic one way or the other. Moreover IT Act in India have no legal clauses that enforce anything close to Net Neutrality. Remember when Airtel tweaked their broadband data plans (the unlimited one -- wherein after a cap, your data rate gets reduced), that is the first step in anti Net neutrality, albeit a very mild one!
- Are there no laws or a legal recourse.?
Well, FCC (Federal Communication Commisson) in US have envisioned a set of regulations (not laws) to enforce Net Neutrality. But yesterday was a low for Net Neutrality when in the House of Representatives, the communications and technology subcommittee voted against the recently adopted net Neutrality rules. These rules will however remain in place unless Congress and/OR the President decide to refer them back to the FCC for a reconsideration.
Open Internet or Net Neutrality is a must to foster competition, promote innovation, uphold freedom (of all kinds) and lastly NOT to become a puppet in the hands of these evil ISPs. As users of the so-far open Internet, we need to take a stance as and when a situation arises. Readers are welcome to engage in the comments section with their perspectives.
If someone has a personalized opinion to share, I can be reached at : vikashbitmesra@gmail.com
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