The days of casually browsing sites like YouTube and Wikipedia at no extra cost may soon be over due to a recent decision by a federal appeals court that shot down Net neutrality.
Last Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lost a battle against Verizon in a federal appeals court that invalidated the commission's directive to ISPs to follow its concept of Net neutrality.
While Net neutrality is a hot issue today, many are still confused about what it is. Simply put, Net neutrality means that all type of content, whether in the form of a cat video or an article about the latest advances in medical technology, be treated the same by ISPs. Without Net neutrality, ISPs may gain too much power in terms of controlling the Internet. They could choose to allow certain sites to load faster by providing more speed and bandwidth. On the flipside of things, ISPs can choose to give other sites slower loading times.
In business terms, the invalidation of Net neutrality can bring in millions of dollars in revenues for ISPs if they choose to charge websites for faster loading times. Four years ago, a Reddit user had created an infographic demonstrating how the recent court decision could affect how people browsed the Internet. While the infographic was created back in 2009, it may be even more relevant today in light of the new developments.
The current nature of the Internet allowed for unprecedented leaps and bounds in innovation. This is an age where a new startup company with relatively small starting capitals could compete with established corporate entities with billions of dollars in capitalization. Without Net neutrality however, these times may soon come to an end.
While the court's decision currently stands, the FCC has vowed to fight for Net neutrality using whatever legal means are available to it. The commission may choose to appeal the case or seek other methods to try to enforce the spirit, if not the law, of Net neutrality on ISPs. Without strict regulations, ISPs can easily abuse their newfound powers and they may soon start negotiating with large corporations for deals allowing high speed Internet access for the highest paying clients. And that is something FCC has vowed it will not let it happen.
"I am committed to maintaining our networks as engines for economic growth, test beds for innovative services and products, and channels for all forms of speech protected by the First Amendment. We will consider all available options, including those for appeal, to ensure that these networks on which the Internet depends continue to provide a free and open platform for innovation and expression, and operate in the interest of all Americans," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement.
