Imagine if Comcast customers couldn't watch Netflix, but were limited only to Comcast's video-on-demand service. Imagine if a cable news network could get its website to load faster on your computer than your favourite local political blog. Imagine if big corporations with their own agenda could decide who wins or loses online. "The internet as we know it would cease to exist.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is today expected to formally approve controversial new rules on how internet users access content such as YouTube and Skype.
Dubbed by one US senator as "the most important free speech issue of our time", the rules drawn up by the country's media and telecoms regulator would effectively create two levels of internet access.
FCC members Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn last night said they would support the proposal laid out by chairman Julius Genachowski. The five-member FCC panel is expected to approve the proposal in Washington later today.
However, the new framework would allow mobile internet service providers to charge content companies for more efficient delivery to US homes. Wireless providers will also be allowed to block applications or services, providing that they are not competitors. Fixed-line and wireless provider Verizon, for example, would not be allowed to block access to Skype because it provides a rival voice service.
The new rules allow providers to charge customers more for using high-bandwidth services such as downloading or streaming videos on YouTube or online movie rental site Netflix.
Today's vote represents the first time the principle of net neutrality – where all internet content is treated equally – has been formally ratified in the US. It is the culmination of five years of heated discussion over the future of the internet.
Public interest groups and technology companies called the framework "fake net neutrality" and said the rules "create a vague and shifting landscape, open to interpretation", rather than enshrining principles of the open internet. Netflix, Skype and Amazon have also previously expressed reservations about the plans.
No comments:
Post a Comment