Another rumble from the dank corridors of corporate agenda. Unless consumers make their opinion known loud and clear we will be facing the demise of the web as we know it. The popular press has dubbed this notion as a “two-tiered internet” but I think that term grossly understates the significance of this trend.
“The egalitarian nature of the internet is under threat, argues internet law professor Michael Geist.”
ISPs already throttle bandwidth. They allow comparitively swift downloads but choke uploads to a bare fraction of that speed, and they limit bandwidth consumption at various levels of paying consumer. Now they want to charge web companies for the privilege of loading faster than their competition, and charge the consumers directly for bypassing that restriction. And the tyranny doesn’t stop there. They want to restrict or eliminate access to voice services like Skype and filesharing services which, guilty by association, include podcasting. This isn’t just in the States or Germany. This is right here in Canada.
Make no mistake- you are about to lose your web.
Dear ISP competition;
If you preserve your declared and legally defensible position of neutrality, offering equal and unbiased access to any site or service I may choose, I will, without hesitation or remorse, ditch my current provider in favour of a subscription to your service. I believe that you are aware of the obvious marketing advantage in remaining neutral in the service you provide, knowing full well that by remaining neutral and upholding the spirit of a free and equal-opportunity interweb, you will annihilate your competition and gain an overwhelming share of the market. Overwhelming.
Thank you for your keen awareness of this unprecedented opportunity.
– one of millions of consumers
I just emailed Shaw’s investor relations address. I think you should get in touch with your provider as well.
[…] Well today was a disappointing one in terms of the democratization of cybercpace. The US House of Representatives voted against enshrining net neutrality regulations into law. What does this mean? Well, basically, that we could be moving towards a two-tiered Internet. One in which big bucks control bandwidth flows so that those who pay more get more exposure. Adrian does a good job of explaining it here. He even went so far as to write his ISP, Shaw Cable. […]