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Net Neutrality

http://www.publicknowledge.org/issues/net-neutrality

5 ways ending net neutrality will destroy your UK onlinebusiness

by Ben Sullivan| 06 June 2014If te UK !overn"ent goes aead wit a net neutrality vetoten it #ould be your business #ounting te #osts$

In late May the US Federal Counications Coission !FCC" #oted$or new net neutrality rules that could allow IS%s to charge contentpro#iders $or prioritised speed and reliability.

&he president o$ the FCC' &o (heeler' had recei#ed criticis $ronet $reedo ad#ocates and nuerous technology ad#ocates $orproposing such rule changes' warning that the proposals could letbroadband pro#iders prioritise tra)c on their networks.

*owe#er' coissioner +essica ,osenworcel said on the #ote: Ibelie#e the process that got us to this ruleaking today is awed. Iwould ha#e pre$erred a delay. I think we o#ed too $ast' to be $air.

(heeler said: &he potential that there would be soe kind o$ a $ast

lane has any concerned.

I dont like the idea and I will work to see that does not happen. (especi0cally ask whether we can and how to pre#ent an internet $astlane.

&he FCCs proposal does soewhat result in the $act that prioritisedtra)c deals ay be legal' but it also asks whether deals should bebanned' and how to pre#ent unprioritised tra)c $ro slipping intoan internet slow lane.

In May' the U1 go#ernent acted to #eto 2U legislation thaten$orces net neutrality. &he 2uropean %arliaent had #oted to putnet neutrality principles into law' but e#ery country in the 2U ustalso pass the legislation $or it to coe into e3ect.

Critics in the U1 against net neutrality say that the law would hinderthe 4o#ernents attept to block illegal aterial.

5 go#ernent spokesperson was 6uoted as saying: (e do notsupport any proposals that ean we cannot en$orce our laws'

including blocking child abuse iages.

http://www.publicknowledge.org/issues/net-neutralityhttp://www.cbronline.com/archive/4291674732http://www.cbronline.com/archive/4291674732http://www.publicknowledge.org/issues/net-neutrality

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In light o$ the U1s position' here are 0#e reasons why the ending o$net neutrality could a3ect your U1 online business.

1% IS&s and te !overn"ent #ould dis#ri"inate against#ontent tey do not li'e$

(ithout net neutrality' IS%s can $a#our business partners orstrategic allies o#er your business which ay actually be incopetition with their interests.

2% S"all and (ersonal websites #ould get slower #ontentdelivery$IS%s will be able to le#erage website owners into paying $or $asterload ties. Sall and hoe-owned websites wont get a look in.I$ IS%s $orce website owners pay $or $aster load ties.

)% *our business "ay ave to (ay for faster delivery$+ust like the point abo#e' be prepared to shi$t soe oney to gainaccess to $ast content deli#ery i$ net neutrality is ended. SM7s andpersonal websites will be the ones to su3er $ro slower contentdeli#ery.

4% *our #o"(etitors+ (arti#ularly tose wit a bigger budget+#ould (ay for faster #ontent delivery wi# will oust youfro" te ga"e$&he FCCs proposal which would allow $or coercially reasonablediscriiation is the #ery opposite to the idea o$ culti#ating a

business startup en#ironent and entrepreneurship. Copetitorsthat already ha#e an established budget will be able to gain anupper hand o#er your business.

http://www.cbronline.co/news/tech/so$tware/e-coerce/8-ways-ending-net-neutrality-will-destroy-your-uk-online-business-89;plains the latest challenge to net neutrality

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o +aes 7all

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o theguardian.co' (ednesday ?8 May 9B?8 ?

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each onth $or access to particular sites or ser#ices J= $or onlinegaing sites' J= $or international' and so on.Its certainly scary no-one wants to be hit in the pocket but isntreally the ost realistic idea o$ what an abandonent o$ netneutrality would likely ean !though it could' in theory' happen

down the line". IS%s actually blocking all but peritted content' ore#en Kust directly charging custoers $or particular access would beparticularly easy $or the FCC' e#en under its watered-down rules' tochallenge. &he courts would likely ha#e a siilarly easy tie againstsuch rulings./ats "ore li'elyInstead' the initial e3ects to consuers would likely be in#isible.IS%s could rather o3er prie deals to particular hea#y users o$bandwidth. &he ost ob#ious candidate is' o$ course' Neti> asingle site which o$ten akes up as uch as a third o$ all internetdata usage. (here other #ideo sites like Lou&ube try to optiisetheir content' Neti> will generally use as uch o$ the pipe as it can:i$ theres lots o$ bandwidth going' itll send Ultra*. Hnly i$ thepipes slow will it copress and optiise.

Its no e>aggeration to say a single strea o$ one Neti> progracan use the sae aount o$ data as a illion straight$orward webpages' and its the IS%s that ha#e to anage that tra)c./y souldnt tey (ay for tat a##ess+ ten.Hn the sur$ace' it sees reasonable' then' to charge Neti> $or theirrelati#ely $ree !or at least cheap" ride: i$ theyre using so uch ore

bandwidth than anyone else' why not charge the $or priorityaccess

*eres the arguents why not. &he 0rst is one o$ copetition:allowing copanies to charge $or a $ast lane copletely reshapeshow the arketplace works. ets say Neti> is willing to pay e#eryUS IS% $or a special $ast lane $or its data !it has' a$ter a $ashion'already cut one such deal".

ater' a better copetitor coes along: easier to use and cheaper'with better shows' better tech etc' but its relati#ely slow net

connection eans it cant strea at the sae 6uality its streaingight e#en be bitty and interrupted. 5s a startup' it cant copetewith what Neti> is !hypothetically" shelling out to IS%s. 5nd sodespite the better tech and content' the challenger $ails. 5n internetwithout net neutrality o#es huge arket power to the gatekeepersand the incubents !o$ course' you could argue in that e>aple itsonly shi$ting the onopoly away $ro rightsholders to pipeholders'but thats a di3erent issue".

5 second issue is erely one o$ $airness. In our hoes' o#ens use

#astly ore power each day than lightbulbs. Should' then' o#enanu$acturers pay electricity copanies $or all that burdensoe

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work they ha#e to do to keep o#ens working especially whenlightbulbs are so low-strain 4enerally' wed see such a concept asridiculous: the custoer pays once' and thats enough./ats te doing.So now we coe to what the latest challenge there#e been any

others to net neutrality is. &he agency had pre#iously tried tocoe up with a $airly good guarantee o$ net neutrality' which ostad#ocates were relati#ely happy with.

*owe#er' this was struck down in +anuary by the appeals court aso#erly burdensoe: the FCC' they said' should speci$y soecircustances in which it ight allow IS%s to prioritise tra)c. &heagency has responded with a proposal that would use Section ;B< o$the &elecounications 5ct that would assess attepts to prioritisetra)c on a case-by-case basis. &he proposal either protects orunderines net neutrality' depending on how uch you trust theFCC.&he new rules would introduce an e3ecti#e copetition test whichsets a bar IS%s ha#e to pass in order to prioritise particular tra)c.Senior FCC sta3 proise that bar will be set #ery high any dealust pro#e itsel$ Dcoercially reasonableE. &he FCC is trying toreassure net neutrality ad#ocates that neutrality is sa$e under sucha regie. Critics see unwilling to stake such a lynchpin o$ the openinternet on assurances.(ise as that sees' the alternati#e proposal carries hea#y risk.(hat any open internet ad#ocates are calling $or is $or the FCC to

declare that the internet is a utility' like electricity. &his would bedone under &itle II o$ the Counications 5ct' which already co#erstelecounications ser#ices but since 9BB9 has not co#eredin$oration ser#ices data tra#elling o#er the internet. I$ the FCCreclassi0ed in$oration under &itle II' as in the earlier analogy' thedata ust ow e6ually' Kust as power ows across the grid. Such ane3ort would do uch to sa$eguard net neutrality. I$ it worked.I$ it didnt and opposition and lobbying against it $ro the power$uland connected cable copanies is already 0erce the FCC hasplayed its last card' its doosday de#ice. It would ha#e nothing le$tin its hand: net neutrality in the US would likely be a lost cause.

&he FCC sees keen to a#oid rolling the dice. It wants net neutralityad#ocates to trust that its trying to protect the principle whilekeeping soething in reser#e. 5d#ocates $ear its erely trying tokill neutrality with a whiper' rather than a bang.

It all coes down to trust the one thing e#eryone sees to belacking.

http://www.theguardian.co/technology/9B?8/ay/?8/net-

neutrality-$cc-what-is-it

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/14/net-neutrality-fcc-what-is-ithttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/14/net-neutrality-fcc-what-is-ithttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/14/net-neutrality-fcc-what-is-ithttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/14/net-neutrality-fcc-what-is-it

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3 govern"ent ruled for net neutrality$ oo bad it wasnt yourgovern"entIn 5erica and 2urope' the internet is going obile out o$con#enience. In the de#eloping world' obile is the internet. *ereswhat happens when copanies take ad#antage o$ that

an 4illorO theguardian.co' Friday < +une 9B?8 ??.?= 7S&

Hne day' you ight actually ha#e to use Facebook to get on theobile web. %hotograph: 7illy Farrell/7F5nyc.co/,2P&he net neutrality debate has $ocused in 5erica on wired lines not obile. 7ut what Kust happened in Chile is a precursor to thereal battle in at least the ediu ter: the obile internet.

Chiles telecounications regulator' the Subsecretaria de&elecounicaciones' recently iposed soe short-ter pain onsoe o$ the nations internet users' hoping to ensure a long-tergain: Chileans ability to ake their own choices about how theywant to use the internet. Mobile carriers had wanted to partner withgiant internet ser#ices !including Facebook and 4oogle" to o3erwhat they call Gero-rating connections: an increasingly coonarrangeent in which obile phone custoers got no-cost obiledata as long as they used those speci0c ser#ices. 7ut the regulatorinstead insisted that Chiles network neutrality law eant what itsaid' and ni>ed those arrangeents.

&hose o$ us who belie#e that the principle o$ net neutrality is crucialto a truly open internet the kind o$ web re6uired to ensureinno#ation and $ree speech need to recogniGe that in any places'including the United States' we#e already lost the near-ter battlewhen it coes to obile. &he carriers' supported by regulators ande#en supposedly open-internet-$riendly copanies like 4oogle' ha#eseiGed control' re-centraliGing a ediu that was designed to bedecentraliGed. &his is a dangerous istake.In 5erica and 2urope in particular' internet use is going obile ata rapid rate' largely due to its con#enience but' in uch o$ thede#eloping world' obile essentially is the internet. Qero-ratingser#ices are training people to belie#e that Facebook Qero'&witterQeroet al are synonyous with what it eans to be online.e$enders o$ these arrangeents ha#e one reasonable arguent:without Gero-rated ser#ices' a lot o$ people wouldnt be online at all.Think of the benets' they say' while downplaying or e#en ignoringthe long-range daage to the open internet.&he non-neutral obile internet eerges $ro the assuption thatobile networks are so bandwidth-constrained that carriers usthea#ily tinker with what users can do and ipose penurious datacaps. So why do people in Finland pay a sall $raction o$ the price

$or uch ore obile bandwidth which they use than people in4erany' Spain and the US Its siple' according to persuasi#e

http://www.theguardian.com/profile/dangillmorhttp://www.theguardian.com/http://www.subtel.gob.cl/noticias/138-neutralidad-red/5311-ley-de-neutralidad-y-redes-sociales-gratishttp://www.subtel.gob.cl/noticias/138-neutralidad-red/5311-ley-de-neutralidad-y-redes-sociales-gratishttp://www.salon.com/2010/08/09/google_verizon_deal/http://qz.com/5180/facebooks-plan-to-find-its-next-billion-users-convince-them-the-internet-and-facebook-are-the-same/http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/29/twitters-emerging-market-strategy-includes-its-own-version-of-a-facebook-zero-like-service-called-twitter-access/http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/29/twitters-emerging-market-strategy-includes-its-own-version-of-a-facebook-zero-like-service-called-twitter-access/http://qz.com/215064/when-net-neutrality-backfires-chile-just-killed-free-access-to-wikipedia-and-facebook/#/h/73014,1/http://dfmonitor.eu/http://www.theguardian.com/profile/dangillmorhttp://www.theguardian.com/http://www.subtel.gob.cl/noticias/138-neutralidad-red/5311-ley-de-neutralidad-y-redes-sociales-gratishttp://www.subtel.gob.cl/noticias/138-neutralidad-red/5311-ley-de-neutralidad-y-redes-sociales-gratishttp://www.salon.com/2010/08/09/google_verizon_deal/http://qz.com/5180/facebooks-plan-to-find-its-next-billion-users-convince-them-the-internet-and-facebook-are-the-same/http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/29/twitters-emerging-market-strategy-includes-its-own-version-of-a-facebook-zero-like-service-called-twitter-access/http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/29/twitters-emerging-market-strategy-includes-its-own-version-of-a-facebook-zero-like-service-called-twitter-access/http://qz.com/215064/when-net-neutrality-backfires-chile-just-killed-free-access-to-wikipedia-and-facebook/#/h/73014,1/http://dfmonitor.eu/

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research$ro a *elsinki consultancy' ,ewheel: Finland has genuinecopetition not doinated by an doinant state-pre$erred !orowned" carrier. 5ccording to ,ewheel' the doinant 2uropeancarriers are trying to create a digital H%2C a cartel designed toaintain high prices.

In 5erica' eanwhile' two national obile carriers already ha#e adoinant arket share: eriGon and 5&R& are $ar ahead o$ Sprintand &-Mobile and a host o$ saller copanies that resell inutesand data $ro the networks o$ big carriers. For its part' 5&R& isplanning an o#er the top ser#icethat will aintain data caps butnot charge $or Sponsored ata a blatant slap at net neutrality.Meanwhile' Sprint wants to buy &-Mobile' arguing that a cobinedcopany will ha#e the needed he$t to truly copete with eriGonand 5&R&. 7ut it sees uch ore likely that a Sprin&-obilewould siply Koin the big guys to create a cartel that ratchets up thecaps and prices $or phone users' and akes special deals with datasponsors.&he copetition policy people at the US +ustice epartent in arare e>aple o$ it doing its Kob under the Hbaa adinistration already blocked 5&R& $ro buying &-Mobile a deal that would ha#ebeen e#en worse' to be sure but the sart oney sees to bebetting that this one will be appro#ed.5 Sprint / &-Mobile deal would be Kust the latest in a global race $oredia/teleco consolidation. In 2urope' 4eran chancellor 5ngelaMerkel has actually called $or moreteleco ergers. &he 2uropeanUnions chie$ antitrust o)cial obKectedto Merkels approach' but

cross-border consolidation sees ore likely to proceed than stop.(e could well be headed toward an era in the not too distant $uturein which a hand$ul o$ teleco carriers with national units alliedwith go#ernents doinate global counications.Meanwhile' we keep hearing a coon re$rain: e#erything is goingobile. In Silicon alley' internet startups alost always say thatthey are obile 0rst and the traditional web second. Its true thatusers' especially younger ones' pre$er obile de#ices to desktopand laptop coputers. 7ut a obile-0rst strategy will put startupsand established copanies alike including news organiGations under the thub o$ an industry that will' sooner than later' be

e>tracting tribute $ro e#ery copany that wants to do business onthe obile internet.So I baed that were $raing network neutrality in such aconstrained way. (e de0nitely need to sa#e it $or our wired-lineser#ices. 7ut i$ we ignore the ways in which obile carriers aretrying to create a new cartel o$ their own' well be in e#en worsetrouble.http://www.theguardian.co/coentis$ree/9B?8/Kun/B