Priority Web
Today I stumbled across this article that paints a dark picture of the internet to come. Apparently, ISP’s are getting it into their heads that they can sell priority bandwidth to websites. Something tells me this is fundamentally wrong. The internet has long been a symbol of our freedom of speach, the one medium that was beyond the majority of regulation and allowed people all over the world to have the exact same experience as everyone else. Now, ISP’s are trying to sell the right to display pages faster. And as much as they say that they won’t affect other sites’ bandwidth, they are basing this on the assumption that there is unlimited bandwidth. This, of course, is a lie. We, as consumers, pay for limited bandwidth. So if I’m trying to do work on our company’s VPN, and someone else decides to play yahoo games, my work is going to take second string? If some video site plays into BellSouth’s hands, am I going to be able to even check my email?
Granted, I am all in favor of taking advantage of our free market society to make money. However, the Internet is built on the fact that all things are equal, that there is no discrimination, and that money isn’t going to get your message out any faster than anyone else’s. The closest to perfect excecution of the freedom of speach we have seen so far. For years, ISP’s have been providing the same internet to everyone. Why should that change now, on the whim of a dime. Legislation is in congress now that will prevent them from purposefully degrading bandwidth but will allow them to sell what I’ll call “Priority Web”. Do you think it’s right for them to do this? Or should the internet remain a public domain open for all entratnts at equal costs?
Posted: January 20th, 2006 under Politica.