What if your internet isn’t just netflix and chill?
Network neutrality is the idea that internet service providers (ISPs), including cable companies and wireless providers , should treat all internet traffic equally. It says your ISP shouldn’t be allowed to block or degrade access to certain websites or services, nor should it be allowed to set aside a “fast lane” that allows content favored by the ISP to load more quickly than the rest.
Ever since then, the term has been at the center of the debate over internet regulation. When Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in his Harvard dorm room, he didn’t need to ask Comcast, Verizon, or other internet service providers to add the site to their networks. He also didn’t have to pay these companies extra fees to ensure that Facebook would work as well as the websites of established companies. Instead, as soon as he created the Facebook website, it was automatically available from any internet-connected computer in the world.
Network neutrality keeps the barriers to entry for new websites and internet applications low. Supporters say that freedom has allowed the creation of dozens of innovative online services such as Google, Twitter, Netflix, Amazon, Skype, and more.
The problems that arise without net neutrality is that the internet would become less generous towards new companies and innovative ideas. For example, if large ISPs began requiring video-streaming sites to pay extra to deliver video content to their customers, the expense and hassle of negotiating deals with dozens of network owners could make it difficult for the next YouTube to get traction.
Network neutrality supporters are particularly worried that telephone companies might be tempted to interfere with internet telephony services such as Skype that compete with traditional phone service. Cable companies might want to slow down services such as Netflix that compete with their paid television service.
For example, some applications (such as voice calling and online games) are particularly sensitive to delays in delivering data. Internet users might benefit if companies could pay a premium to ensure that their latency-sensitive applications are given priority. But strict network neutrality rules could bar ISPs from experimenting with this kind of service.
Finally, some regulation skeptics argue that network neutrality regulations are unnecessary because ISPs have a natural incentive not to break the internet. After all, internet access becomes more valuable if there are more innovative services available online. Why would ISPs kill the goose that laid the golden egg?
references : Vox