The importance of net neutrality has been brought to the fore after several major Internet providers and telecommunication firms on both sides of the Atlantic sought to impose restrictions on their customers’ access to the Internet. Abandoning net neutrality, some firms have argued, is necessary to provide a future-proof service for everyone that is fast, reliable and secure. However, according to a report published by Plum, a consultancy firm based in London, changing net neutrality in favour of a more rigidly controlled system may cause irreversible harm.
Questioning the Freedom of the Internet
The Internet is often – and usually incorrectly – associated with freedom. The Internet is free, some argue, and ought to remain as such for as long as it remains in place. Champions of a free Internet include the founders of some of the largest technology companies (not least Google), while most people in Europe and North America would maintain that numerous freedoms can be enjoyed online. Net neutrality was, after all, the system chosen by those who created the Internet.
Net Neutrality Seen as a Hindrance
Telecom firms and many Internet providers, however, argue that net neutrality is more a hindrance than a help. It has been contended by some firms that total freedom to use Internet bandwidth is a grotesque misuse of resources. Eventually, the Internet will simply run out of bandwidth and Telecom firms will be saying, “We told you so”, to all and sundry. Plum does not agree with this argument or, in fact, any that claim that the Internet should abandon net neutrality. Their paper stated that a departure from net neutrality would risk causing irreversible harm to the Internet.
Controlling Network Access
Telecom firms adopt a somewhat different policy. By controlling access to networks, providers can shape the online activities of their customers while spoon-feeding some services and drip-feeding others. Telecom companies argue that a departure from net neutrality is essential in order to control the ever-increasing demand for bandwidth. Is this true? Again, Plum argues not.
The Telecoms are Wrong
Backed by various facts and figures, Plum reasons that the €150-billion broadband industry in Europe more than covers the cost of increasing bandwidth capacity. So there is no logical basis for service providers to control bandwidth provision, as free market conditions ought to achieve this naturally. Firms distributing bandwidth to customers, providing on-demand content or supplying bandwidth-heavy services will aim to lower their costs by producing highly efficient systems that reduce download speeds and limit data. Plum also argues that annual figures clearly show costs are not rocketing out of control, as some providers have suggested.
The Erosion of Net Neutrality
Unfortunately, net neutrality has been eroding for quite some time already. Despite efforts by the European Union to protect it to a certain extent, service providers have managed to implement restrictions that threaten to destabilise the open-Internet model.
Orange, for instance, requires customers to sign up to an agreement that prevents its bandwidth from being used for non-Orange Internet-based services. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) communications are limited by Vodafone UK, which requires mobile customers to pay an additional monthly charge of £15 if they intend to use VoIP.
Meanwhile, BT, the largest Internet service provider in the UK, has been criticised for implementing bandwidth throttling – a practice that limits broadband provision or activity at particular times. In this case, BT limited video streaming to 896Kbps for seven hours from 5pm each evening – the busiest period of the day in terms of domestic Internet usage.
Plum advocates the resistance of any attempt to abandon net neutrality completely, even if it may be impossible to prevent some degree of erosion (as evidenced by the examples above). Net neutrality is not an enshrined human right of any kind, but some would argue that it perhaps ought to be. Nevertheless, net neutrality remains under threat from major service providers and unless more active steps are taken to reverse the trend, the Internet seems destined for some harmful changes.
Top image by markrabo
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