Network neutrality is a very important issue that is facing the Internet since it started for any subject that will sound dull. The set up of mind behind net neutrality is that the material of web that we are able to see on our laptops, smartphones either from Google of any other blog should be able to flow freely through the internet pipes irrespective of the origin, content or the destination without getting any special treatment for anyone.
The issue has come in front of the appeals made by a federal to the court ruled that the Federal Communications Commission can not stand in the ways of AT&T, Verizon and other Internet Service Providers any longer that are in any way to create Internet Express lanes.
President Barack Obama said on Friday that FCC was considering the appeal of a free and open internet with the goal of maintaining. The FCC has been preventing the telecommunications companies to play favorites on long distance telephone lines since 1970s. AT&T, Verizon and Comcast contend that if a Netfix or a Google desire to pay more to travel in a fast lane, then why not!
But FCC and others are worried that such agreement would allow the internet service providers play their favorites and give a preferred treatment to the ones who can afford it. Honestly, AT&Ts and Verizons of the world are not trusted by many of the people. For example, in 2007 traffic was slowed down by Comcast that involved file sharing format of Bit torrent, in 2010 people were blocked by Verizon to use skype on their network, in 2010, AT&T blocked people that are having unlimited data plans to use the FaceTime video chat featuresof Apple until they are not subscribed to some expensive plan.
It is said by the Internet Providers that it should be customers decision made according to their wallets whether to switch to another provider on not agreeing with another’s practices of business. But many of the Americans do not get the option to switch. The report of FCC in 2013 which was about the competition among the Internet Service Providers that are wired found that nearly one third of the Americans have only one possible provider with high speed internet travelling at the rate of 6 megabits per second in their home. And other 37 percent of Americans only had two options.
Currently, the wagons are being circled by the wagons that is until one line in a direction or another is breached, at a point where the internet’s future might change for ever.