|
lll~CrllCl, ilCUlidlll.y iV.~'lll.
<br />or privilege? Web users debate
<br />~ INTERNET FROM Al
<br />Net neutrality means that
<br />everyone who hooks up to the
<br />Internet is treated equally. The
<br />website for the Phillips Neigh-
<br />borhoodNetwork in Minneap-.
<br />olis gets its traffic routed as ef-
<br />ficiently as CNN.com.
<br />But net neutrality is also
<br />about who pays for the Inter-
<br />net. Cable and phone compa-
<br />nies, which provide the net-
<br />work for broadband Internet
<br />traffic, have watched Google,
<br />Yahoo and other Web business-
<br />esget rich using their "pipes:'
<br />The cable and phone com-
<br />panies think they should get a
<br />bigger piece of the Internet pie.
<br />Rather than just collect month-
<br />lyfees from subscribers, broad-
<br />bandproviders want business-
<br />esthat use the Web to pay them
<br />higher rates for premium ser-
<br />vices, such as faster connec-
<br />tions and higher levels of se-
<br />curity.
<br />They also want the ability
<br />to steer their broadband cus-
<br />tomers tothose premium sites.
<br />In theory, broadband provid-
<br />ers could even block access
<br />to websites that refused to pay
<br />extra fees, although one ma-
<br />jor provider - AT&T -has
<br />pledged not to do that.
<br />Advocates of net neutrality
<br />argue that the Internet is a qua-
<br />si-public service, like the elec-
<br />tric grid or the telephone lines.
<br />Giving preferred treatment
<br />to certain websites, they say,
<br />would be akin to the telephone
<br />company offering better phone
<br />connections to whichever flo-
<br />rist or car dealer paid it the
<br />most money.
<br />Partisans on both sides say
<br />the future of the Internet rides
<br />on how lawmakers settle the
<br />issue.
<br />"Our goal is to ensure that
<br />the Internet is an open sys-
<br />tem for anyone, anywhere to
<br />use," U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan,
<br />D-N.D., said in an interview
<br />"We're very concerned about
<br />big companies acting as gate-
<br />keepers, charging tolls. We
<br />think that will ruin the Inter-
<br />net:'
<br />Dorgan is co-author of the
<br />Internet Freedom Preserva-
<br />tion Act, which would prohib-
<br />it broadband Internet service
<br />providers from "blocking, de-
<br />grading or prioritizing service
<br />on their networks:'
<br />Broadband providers such
<br />as Comcast, AT&T and Veri-
<br />zon say that without extra fees
<br />from preferred customers, they
<br />won't have money to upgrade
<br />their networks and invest in
<br />new technology.
<br />AT&T, Verizon and Comcast
<br />declined interviews.
<br />"Net neutrality proponents
<br />would actually limit choices
<br />and options for Internet us-
<br />ers," Ed Whitacre, chief exec-
<br />utive officer of AT&T, said in a
<br />statement. "They say it is unfair
<br />for Internet users. and content
<br />x>~r x>~u~.rrY R
<br />For pros and cons on net
<br />neutrality, see www.
<br />savetheinternet.comand
<br />www.netcompetition.org.
<br />providers to pay different pric-
<br />es for different levels of speed,
<br />reliability and security.
<br />"It's like saying we should
<br />add no more lanes to a high- ',
<br />way that is increasingly con-
<br />gested."
<br />No longer a common carrier
<br />Ever since the Internet be-
<br />gansome 30 years ago as a way
<br />of letting computers talk to
<br />one another, net neutrality has
<br />been a key principle. Internet
<br />service providers were consid-
<br />ered common carriers, mean-
<br />ingtheyhad toroute all traffic,
<br />regardless of destination.
<br />Last year, the U.S. Supreme
<br />Court ruled that the Internet
<br />was more like cable TV: aone-
<br />way transmitter of informa-
<br />tion. Just as cable companies
<br />choose what programs they
<br />offer on their channels, broad-
<br />band providers would be al-
<br />lowed to choose what Web
<br />content they transmit.
<br />Ralph Jenson, a Woodbury
<br />technology consultant, was a
<br />founder of Gofast.net, one of
<br />the first Internet service pro-
<br />viders in the Twin Cities. The
<br />broadband companies, he said,
<br />are losing sight of why the In-
<br />ternetwas created.
<br />"It wasn't just for them to
<br />connect to their customers,"
<br />Jenson said. "It was for every-
<br />body to connect to everybody
<br />else. A guy who sets up a new
<br />site and it gets hot, they're go-
<br />ing to come to him and ask for
<br />more money, and he's going to
<br />have to shut down. And there
<br />goes innovation."
<br />Those on the other side
<br />point out that there are already
<br />different service tiers and fi-
<br />nancial deals on the Inter-
<br />net. Some customers pay less
<br />for slow dial-up connections,
<br />while others pay more for fast-
<br />erbroadband service.
<br />And Google, a loud propo-
<br />nent of net neutrality, gives.
<br />priority in its search listings to
<br />companies that pay to be at the
<br />top of the list.
<br />"The common carrier is a
<br />model for 1910, not 2010," said
<br />Douglas Holtz-Eakin, an eco-
<br />nomic fellow at the Coun-
<br />cil on Foreign Relations in
<br />Washington, D.C. "You charge
<br />people based on what they
<br />use.
<br />"My take on the really big
<br />stakes here is, who will build
<br />the Internet capacity of the fu-
<br />tore? And the sad truth is that
<br />no one is going to do that un-
<br />less they have the money,
<br />through pricing, to put it in."
<br />Dorgan said freedom of the
<br />Web is an important tool of de-
<br />mocracy.
<br />"The Internet is changing
<br />the way we communicate and
<br />the way ideas are exchanged
<br />and considered," he said. "We
<br />can't have the Internet become
<br />a proprietary playground:'
<br />John Reinan • 612-673-7402
<br />~`%~ea~~ tP~ ~CeQ'/
<br />SCF~~E~tAZADE
<br />DIAMONDS AND FINE JEWELRY
<br />GALLERIA ~ 69th & FRANCE ~ EDINA
<br />W W W.SJEWELERS.COM
<br />1
<br />
|