Traffic prioritization is common sense for telecom networks. It has been practiced for years, and likely has greatly improved the quality of service that most of us otherwise would have experienced. That doesn't mean service providers shouldn't be required to be up-front about such practices, of course.
The evolution of multimedia content and peer-to-peer exchange practices over these networks has introduced a new degree of surprise and difficulty into network management, and service providers may still be finding their way. It's likely that there will be a few mistakes in judgment early on. However, it seemed apparent at yesterday's Federal Communications Commission hearing at Harvard Law School that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is now bent on driving a regulatory truck directly through his own agency's previous recognition that Net Neutrality must allow room for reasonable network management practices.
For more:
- read this story at The Washington Post
Related articles:
- Rep. Markey was also in the house at the Harvard hearing