Internet regulation has once again entered the spotlight this year, with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) proposing its new Open Internet rule that threatens to impose quite the opposite of what its name suggests.
The regulations look set to benefit the web's richest players, with ISPs allowed to offer greater exposure to the highest spenders, creating a bleak outlook for the smaller content providers and those who fight for 'net neutrality'.
To get the low-down in the FCC proposals, the opposition, and what all this means for the internet, we fired some questions at James McGough, director of the Broadband World Series for Informa.
TechRadar Pro: Firstly, what defines net neutrality?
James McGough: Essentially, net neutrality is a rule that gives us freedom of speech online – without intervention. The internet encourages users to innovate and express themselves and all data shared online is treated equally and fairly by the ISPs (internet service providers).
This means that, regardless of whether the data is in the form of an app from a major content provider or a video from a small provider, every website is given the same priority when travelling through the internet. There are no 'fast lanes'.
TRP: What exactly is the latest debate about?
JM: The FCC voted to propose a new Open Internet rule in the US on 15th May. The latest announcement marks only the beginning of a long battle on net neutrality.
If approved, ISPs would be allowed to charge content companies for priority treatment, which would consequently relegate other content to a 'slower lane'.
The public reaction to the announcement has been indicative of how passionate people feel about protecting the integrity of the internet. Activists have been rallying across the US to fight against the FCC from turning the internet into a platform for corporate speech and another tool for government spying.
It is inevitable, in today's data-hungry net world, that the changing landscape of the internet will affect every business and consumer across the globe. However, the US is back-pedalling by putting the power of the internet in the hands of ISPs.
Its 'fast-lane' approach is reminiscent of cable and satellite TV, which will lead to ISPs favouring larger corporations that promise to bring the biggest commercial return and therefore discriminating against smaller firms that are actually the lifeblood of our economy.
TRP: Where does the EU stand in the debate?
JM: With the US now set to implement the 'fast-lane' approach, European broadband providers have every right to be concerned.
In March, the EU voted for net neutrality but, with the FCC giving ISPs the ability to control the speed of broadband services to European customers, the EU might have no choice but to change its mind.
The EU needs to stand firm on its call to reverse the trend for the big players to control the internet through traffic management and network speeds.
TRP: What does it mean for enterprises?
JM: What the majority of enterprises don't realise is that internet service providers (ISPs) are already prioritising some internet traffic over others. Earlier this year, Netflix agreed to pay a fee to Comcast and Verizon to improve the speed of its monthly streaming service in Europe as well as America.
Ultimately, the FCC's plans will limit the open access nature of the internet, and this will only threaten the freedom of speech and exchange of ideas from the small innovators as well as force consumers to change to a larger, favoured, competitor.
In fact, enterprises argue that the internet must remain truly open, affordable, and fast if they are to sustain an economical future.
TRP: What's the alternative?
JM: Ideally, net neutrality would remain equal and allow businesses large and small to innovate, compete and succeed in a level playing field.
The alternative to addressing the rise in bandwidth – and indeed protecting and promoting the freedom of the internet – is for broadband firms to collaborate to develop next-generation networks, applications, and services.
The other position is to be sympathetic to the anti-net neutrality stance of some operators. Today's Tier 1 operators are some of the biggest privately owned companies in the world with a responsibility to their shareholders.
Operators have made, and continue to make, huge investments to continually upgrade their networks and will naturally protect themselves against any threat to these investments and their share price.
The pro-net neutrality camp is asking for full network speeds to be 100% available around the clock. But does the regular user need this capability? Some operators would argue not.
With top end fixed line network speeds capable of 1Gbps, it will only be on rare occasions that regular users will max out this speed – downloading or streaming the latest Hollywood blockbuster in 4K for example.
One compromise would be to implement business models, pricing structures and technologies that allow individual users short burst of 1Gps speeds when needed, with their average available speeds being at a much lower level.
This would allow users to download all of the rich content they need while preventing operators' expensive networks from being clogged up.
TRP: What's next for net neutrality?
JM: The FCC has indicated it wants to move the vote forward this year and, following the latest vote, the proposal has now moved into a 60-day public comment period.
Activists in the meantime are aggressively campaigning to prevent the new Open Internet rule from coming into force. Anyone can take action through Save the Internet's website.
TRP: How is the Broadband World Forum involved?
JM: Net neutrality is high on the agenda at the Broadband World Forum and will be the subject that keynote panellist Eric Klinker - CEO of BitTorrent, Inc., is keen to raise the profile of.
The call to reverse the trend for the big players to control the internet through traffic management and network speeds is one that will feature across many of the keynote speeches at this year's industry event.
Joining the debate will be Anna Troberg leader of Sweden's Pirate Party, a political organisation that fights against digital exclusion, and Perry Stathopoulos, CTO of MindGeek, one of the world's top five bandwidth consumption companies and number one global distributor of adult entertainment.
The conference takes place in Amsterdam on the 21-23 October and there's also confirmed keynotes from Telkom SA, Deutsche Telekom, Telstra, Telenor and the United Nations amongst others.
You'd expect topics such as NFV, SDN, the Internet of Things, Big Data and 5G to be prominent, as we identify how network innovation is powering the global connected society.
from Techradar - All the latest technology news http://ift.tt/1q4levB
沒有留言:
張貼留言