In recent weeks, you may have heard a lot about “Net Neutrality”. You probably never gave it a second thought — thinking that it was just some “Internet thing” that won’t affect you. While there is likely very little that can be done about it being revoked, it is absolutely something that will affect you. Probably not tomorrow, or even within the next year, but this repeal opens the door of change in the underlying premise of how you access the Internet.
As it stands today, and as it has been for as long as you can remember, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) [Comcast, Suddenlink, AT&T, DirectTV, Etc.], simply provides you with access to anything and everything on the Internet. You pay a single monthly amount that allows you access to giants such as Amazon, Netflix, Ebay, Facebook, ESPN in just the same fashion as you access a small, two employee, mom & pop online businesses hosted out of their basement. Your ISP is neutral – they have no preference if you visit Youtube a million times a day, or if you access your company’s email system. You have the same amount of bandwidth (same speed) to each site. Amazon has the same priority as Bob’s Yarn Braiding Club in Freeport, Kansas.
On December 14th, the FCC will vote on whether to repeal the current law that provides for net-neutral ISPs. The current expectation is for a 3-2 vote to overturn the statute. What does this mean for you? The picture I’m posting is truly a “worst-case” scenario — but completely plausible. In essence, ISPs will now be allowed to charge you a premium price to access certain sites — or at least have faster access to certain sites. You may pay a base-price, then have add-ons for ESPN, Youtube, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, etc. — much the same way that you choose your channel lineups for DirectTV, DishNetwork, CableTV, etc. Start with a base package plus add-ons for sports, movies, music, etc. ISPs would make billions for providing access across the same equipment and services they already have — while you’re paying extra to look at cats on Facebook. In cases such as Netflix, Spotify, and other pay-services, not only do you pay them directly for music streaming, but you would also have to pay your ISP to first gain access to the site.
Most of the big-name providers have said they won’t implement anything like this after the change — at least not immediately. But…. Within a few years, after everyone has forgotten the controversy of the repeal, they will start slowly moving to this model of service offerings. While it may not seem like a big deal, the future implications are huge. I’m all for decreasing governmental regulation — but this is one case where Internet Providers should be held in check to provide open, neutral access to all sites across the world.
