Why Network Neutrality Makes Sense
[these opinions are my own and are not here on the behalf of any current or former employer]
One of my roommates is moving out, and we took this time to figure out which internet provider is best for all of us. In comparing the plans, we came up with an interesting heuristic for what we want from our upload capacity: no one’s torrenting should slow down anyone’s YouTube video. We all agreed that this seems reasonable, and fair, between friends, and will pick our internet package likewise. But in my explaining 56k/DSL/Cable/FiOS to my flat mate, I realize that the Network Neturality agreement between Verizon and Google makes sense on a similar basis.
My neighbor’s torrenting shouldn’t slow down my Hulu, for the exact same reason it shouldn’t slow down my hypothetical television: that wouldn’t be fair to the people making TV shows. The people who whole heartedly treat video as a medium of expression demand a certain quality in the delivery of their work, and to move forward, companies who provide this medium, like Hulu or Google, need to guarantee that their work won’t pause every other minute while some cache gets replenished.
I imagine Verizon is the best partner for this, as they’re investing in a lot of last-mile connections with comprable upload and download bandwidth (FiOS). If Verizon can guarantee that internet video will stream as uninterrupted as television does, they’ll be able to move more and more television consumption into the browser. And say what you want about television content, but a cheap medium where people can broadcast film guaranteed to be uninterrupted is a good thing.
However, there are also valid concerns on the torrenting side: peer to peer traffic is an important part of the internet, and Verizon should be forced to update their network speeds even after video demand is satisfied. To ensure this, I would propose a strict sunset clause on any violations of network neutrality, so that this is truly a temporary solution to move the video industry toward using the internet as their medium of delivery. In the long run, Verizon should provide enough bandwidth for sufficient p2p and video bandwidth to exist side-by-side.
