Circuit Rider Sorry I missed the last issue. Hey, it’s ski season, but there are important things going on that we need to talk about. Net Neutrality Right now all data traveling over the Inter-net is treated equally. You can attach any device, use any IP-based protocol, and still expect that your packets will arrive at their intended destination just as fast as anyone else’s packet. Your packets are just as good as everyone else’s packets. That’s because from the very beginning, the economic model for the Internet has been that you pay a fixed amount for a connection to the net. Generally speaking, the amount you pay is determined by the size of the “pipe.” A T-3 line that can carry 43Mbps is a faster pipe, and thus costs more than a connection from your cable company that is limited to 3Mbps. The telephone companies want to change this. They want to look at each packet going to your house to determine what type of data it contains and charge you more for certain applications—like voice over ethernet (VoIP) and Skype. They want to make these services more expensive, for obvious reasons. Once the precedent is set, the telcos will be able to decide what new applications can grow unfettered and which will be squelched based on their own parochial interests. New services, like IPTV, would be charged more so the telcos can get their piece of the action. Another idea is to charge large web sites and others a premium for faster service. Their packets would then be “better” than yours in that they would get priority and your stuff might need a retry or two to get through. This is like a freeway, where Chevys are required to drive 45 mph in the right lane while Fords can drive as fast as they want, because Ford has a deal with the Highway Commission. All this wouldn’t be so bad, except that the Internet is a monopoly. While it is not run by one company, we do not have competing Internets from which to choose where market pressures can decide what is “best.” And over time, we have fewer and fewer choices of where we can get our Internet connection. Cable companies are not required to share their wires with competing Internet service providers. On the DSL side, the telcos won a decision last year that allows them free reign on the pricing they offer to other companies like Mags Net. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is up for review, and many of the network providers smell a chance to raise revenues. Rather than improve service, they would rather just raise rates. The people charged with watching out for our interests, like the public utility commissions, are either clueless, told to keep their hands off, or both. Congressional attempts to regulate the Internet so far have produced such well thought out bills as those attempting to prevent kids from seeing porn and more. Legislators who do not understand the technology yet are desperate to “do something” are perhaps the most dangerous of all. Other stuff I wish I had time and space for fun stuff – like the new services popping up to help you get porn for your Video iPod but these must wait for next month
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