The Electronic Frontier Foundation has posted a nice level-headed analysis of the Google/Verizon Net Neutrality proposal.
Their conclusion is that while the companies’ proposal has a few good points and points worth considering, it has some serious, troubling flaws that could be real threats to the way the Internet works in the future.
Most importantly, Google/Verizon’s insistence that “wireless broadband is different from the traditional wireline world” is a bug problem. They claim that this is partly because “the mobile marketplace is more competitive and changing rapidly.” Ummm, yeah. This is exactly why the it needs to be protected. The principle of neutrality has nothing whatsoever to do with the method being used to transmit information, and this idea coming from Verizon makes it particularly suspect. They’re basically saying that they still have a hell of a lot of money to make in wireless, and they don’t want any regulations to get in their way.
Go read the EFF’s summary. It does a great job of breaking down what’s really at stake.
(via everyone on Twitter)
The EFF is cool and all, I mean who could even argue with their name!
I read the Goog-Vz proposal and it’s very vague. But I think the EFF is wrong on the wireless point. Wireless will always be congested and overloaded. The big old fiber optic Internet, rarely congests. For proof of wireless congestion, ask any SF or NYC iPhone user. When Verizon gets the iPhone in 2011, it will be the same.
Why should my Skype call to family, which takes up minimal network resources, be bumped by your tethered laptop torrent sharing? File sharing is something that takes time. It should be a background activity – download and watch later – not like a real time phone call or even video call.
Things that need fast: phone and video calls between real people, networked gaming. Things that can go slow: file sharing, downloads, email, text messages. What’s fast? 20 thousandths of a second. What’s slow? A tenth of a second.
I’m for “network fairness”, things that can go slow in the background can go slow. Things that by their nature need to go fast can go fast. Network neutrality is is the tragedy of the commons. Sorry to be so un-PC, but the devil is in the details.
Not holding out much hope since we long ago lost the country to the corporations. Yes, the sky IS falling.