Monday 22 March 2010

Net Neutrality



In all of the rows brewing over online content, I’ve only ever seen fears over access and availability and supply of content... not fears of access and availability and supply of the bandwidth itself.

So thanks to this article by Ted Johnson in VARIETY, for the first time, I came across the term
NET NEUTRALITY

A central argument is the worry that Internet service providers, such as Comcast, Verizon, et al., could give speedier delivery to some websites and services than others.

That would drive monthly subscribers to some websites while they eventually shut out the slower ones. And as Hollywood increasingly looks to the Web to deliver entertainment -- via video streaming, downloading and techniques that are still in the formative stage -- billions of dollars annually could be at stake.

The fear is that without the teeth of government restrictions, the Internet will one day resemble cable TV, where consumers are at the mercy of the dealmaking prowess of operators and networks, who decide what viewers can get via bundled tiers of channels.

When someone subscribes to cable, they get certain channels because those companies made a deal to be there, and some Web folk want to ensure that the Internet avoids the more-money/more-access approach.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL VARIETY ARTICLE


Seems its been around for a while -- here's an explanation in video form from December 2006....

Save the Internet!


http://www.SavetheInternet.com
WINNER of a 2007 Webby People's Voice Award!


SaveTheInternet YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SaveTheInternet


CLICK HERE for more posts labelled RECOMMENDED READING


CLICK HERE for all posts labelled INDUSTRY

CLICK HERE for all posts labelled USA

No comments: