All you wanted to know about net neutrality

As internet users, we’ve all watched with great attention, the current debate and vote on net neutrality. But few of us (apart from geeks) actually know what internet neutrality means. What is it? Why is it of important? And most importantly, how does it concern us? Join us as we discuss some of the basics of Net Neutrality that we believe you have a right to know.

Internet Neutrality is the principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally by internet service providers.

ISPs- They provide you with a connection to the internet. (They are against Net Neutrality)

FCC – Federal communication commission regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. (They’re for Net Neutrality)

YOU- Who use the internet, (Decide!)

The conflict

You have a computer at home. You are provided with an internet connection by an internet service provider (ISP). Example: Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance etc. The internet service provider lets you access websites such as facebook, Google, youtube, Gmail, blogs, gaming sites etc. The ISP lets you access any website and download information from it at the same speed regardless of which website it is.

The ISPs do not want this. They want to be able to block certain content and charge extra to use certain services. ISPs demand a cut from every website in order to funnel that content to customers. So, you may end up with faster speeds for a few websites and slower speeds (or no speed at all!) for some others.

ISPs want to settings up blocks to

• Discriminate: Smaller sites will be harder to access

• Double-dip: Network owners want to charge you for internet access and then charge extra for content viewed.

• Prevent competition: Start-ups and entrepreneurs will have an extra hurdle to overcome in order to compete with larger providers.

Benefits of Internet Neutrality

• Freedom to access the information you want
• Freedom to create competition
• Freedom of speech
• Protection against unfair pricing
• Ability to innovate

So which side are you? Do you believe Internet Neutrality is a realistic possibility or is it just a pipedream? Please let us know what you think.