What Is ‘Net Neutrality’ And Why We Should Care – A Lot!

Net Neutrality is one of the most important policy disputes that will determine the future of the Internet for all of us both in Canada but especially right now in the USA.. Lobbyists, giant corporations and GOP politicians are taking turns muddying the waters regarding what Net Neutrality really is but in its most basic definition it really means this:

Network neutrality is the idea that your cellular, cable, or phone internet connection should treat all websites and services the same. Big companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast want to treat them differently so they can charge you more depending on what you use – similar to how cable TV bundles channels.

To put this in perspective and help to clear up some of the ‘muddy waters’ you might want to answer this question:

Is access to the Internet more like access to electricity, or more like cable television service?

My answer to that is it’s more like electricity. I pay our power company so I can use the electricity however I want (i.e. for a microwave, furnace, TV or light bulbs). I get all the electricity not just some of it.  Cable TV, however, is different. I only get what I want depending on how much I’m willing to pay (i.e. news, sports or movies). If I don’t buy the right “bundle” then I’m just out of luck. So, ask yourself again “do you want the Internet to be more like access to electricity or more like cable?”

Big ISP’s would like to turn the Web into Cable TV like subscriptions

Currently, Verizon, AT&T, Comcast etc. can charge us more for higher speeds and can even limit those speeds in some cases. But, they cannot control what type of information you can access whether it be sports, movies or news.  ISP’s cannot make us pay more for the right to access blogs; or, Neflix; or Facebook under current Net Neutrality rules. That could change if Net Neutrality is neutered.

The Republican Party would like to see Net Neutrality neutered

Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and the cable companies, supported by their Republican friends in the US Congress, want to end Net Neutrality,  They want to be able to negotiate their own deals with major content providers like Netflix, Hulu, HBO or other streaming services that use huge bandwidth and then pass on those costs to you the Internet consumer. Do you really want to see the Internet in the USA turn into a cable TV subscription service where you have to pick, choose and pay for the Internet content you want?

Is this the kind of Internet Americans want? The GOP says YES!

It would also give your Internet provider considerably more economic leverage. It would, in the Non-Net-Neutrality world, be free to throttle the speed with which you could access services or block sites entirely as surely as you cannot watch a cable channel that your cable provider chooses not to offer. It’s been a fun ride with the Internet and we’ve come to believe that it would always remain the free and open medium it is now. That could come to an end for citizens of the USA!

Why Is Net Neutrality So Important?

1. A free and open Internet is the single greatest technology of our time and control should never be at the mercy of giant corporations like Verizon, AT&T and Comcast etc.
2. A free and open Internet stimulates ISP competition
3. A free and open Internet helps prevent unfair pricing practices
4. A free and open Internet promotes innovation
5. A free and open Internet promotes the spread of ideas
6. A free and open Internet drives entrepreneurs to do better
7. A free and open Internet protects Freedom of Speech

   President Obama strongly supports current Net Neutrality rules

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama came out strongly in favour of keeping current US Net Neutrality rules in place. He called on the FCC to "answer the call" heard in the millions of comments left on its website in support of net neutrality and implement "the strongest possible rules" to protect the principle. Obama said the FCC should create new rules so "neither the cable company nor the phone company will be able to act as a gatekeeper, restricting what you can do or see online".

Nautrally, the GOP is all for big business and the ISP’s

Ultimately, the final decision on this appears to lie with the FCC.  The FCC is considering changing rules governing data traffic, following a court ruling in January that allowed ISP Verizon to charge to carry traffic from bandwidth-heavy services such as Netflix. Net neutrality advocates, including Obama, have called on the FCC to reclassify broadband providers as "Title Two services" as this would allow the watchdog to treat the firms as utilities allowing it to block fast-lane deals. 

Of course for Ted ‘Calgary’ Cruz it’s always about Obamacare

Here in Canada, it’s highly unlikely that our Canadian government would ever permit our big ISP’s, telecoms and cable companies to ever control the Internet the way Non-Net Neutrality supporters in the US want. These corporations are already on a tight-leash after being blasted in a federal government report just last year that ushered in a number of customer-friendly changes. These corporations don’t own  Internet access.  We, the people do.  In Canada, corporations are NOT people.

Thanks for visiting!