The future is a 'hidden service' for net-neutality

While all the net neutrality discussions are running, a core point to the recent Google / Verizon proposal is an allegation of hypocrisy.  As @vstg005 notes, “championing of non-discrimination and transparency, while simultaneously including the caveat of ‘additional online services’”  From the draft: “A broadband provider could offer additional services that could include traffic prioritization.”

A common argument is that additional services, like high speed gaming, mass-video usage, torrent taxes, etc, could be rolled out while Regulation demands that ‘normal services’ not experience degraded / prioritized speeds.

I think the notion of “not degrading normal service” is itself a misnomer in the larger debate – and going to sell everyone down the same river of traffic prioritization. Why?

Internet connection speeds have steadily increased (in the US and other countries) without the price of home access changing.  I paid about $25 / mo for dial up, and I still pay around that now ($40) for DSL.  I recognize some people pay as much as $70 in the US for ‘high speeds.’  In general, though, the access cost has not scaled as quickly as the relative throughput.

If this kind of legislation is formalized, it will give internet providers carte blanche to lock internet access speeds at today’s throughput, while steadily charging more and more for general trends - let alone social advancements.  Cable TV networks failing and web-streamed programming is the next stage?  There’s a cost for that.  etc. etc. etc.

No one should be stupid to the costs of heavy bandwidth usage.  There’s a reason that ‘Internet2’ was rolled out to universities first.  But ‘internet1’ was first rolled out to the same universities while the rest of us were on dialup.  Tomorrow it will be something else, like this fancy structured-core fiber.

This is part of the complexity between free markets and regulation.  We rely upon regulation to improve the baseline of society… otherwise people get charged $1 USD / gallon for drinking water.

(Every market is bubble compared with basic water needs.)


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