Net neutrality was once the purview of academics and policy wonks who warned about creating "haves" and "have-nots" in a two-tiered Internet world that was decidedly user unfriendly. With the brouhaha over Comcast's network management and Bell Canada's aggressive deep-packet inspection, net neutrality has become a hot topic beyond the world of telecommunications companies. It's become--gasp--public.
Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission chair Konrad von Finckenstein told an industry group last month net neutrality "is one of the polarizing issues of the day. It will have to be addressed and debated by all of us."
He's on target. Now, businesses--most notably Google--increasingly are jumping into the fray and coming down in a predictable scattering. Those that use the Internet as a pipeline, including Google, Skype, many ISPs, and Internet destinations, are all over Bell and Comcast for threatening the freedom of the Internet. In favor of "network management?" Surprise! The telcos and cable companies that have to deal with keeping the traffic flowing.
For more:
- See this Toronto Star story