Net Neutrality

Posted on June 30, 2006
Filed Under What's New |

Yesterday, news organizations and other publishers who’d like to control long-term costs for delivering content online were dealt a blow in Congress.The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, in approving a major telecom reform bill, rejected an amendment that would guarantee “net neutrality.”

Poynter Online - E-Media Tidbits

We should all be concerned. It means telcos will be asking high volume content delivery companies for extra fees for preferential delivery.

It adds to Google another way the web can be distorted (on the Google issue: it’s estimated over half of web servers are now on link farms out there to secure improved Google returns. Blogging software that produces dozens of blogs a day are also into this Google returns optimisation game).

Right now it’s a worry also because telcos have another revenue stream opening up to them: IPTV.

They could be tomorrow’s super-broadcasters facilitating niche content producers in the long tail.

Their reversion to a monopolistic mindset is maybe an indication that they don’t expect long tail economics to work for them.

Preferential delivery of content is already affecting mobile networks where one company I deal with has been unable to offer a half-time score service for local sports matches because the mobile operator puts non-core content at the back of the queue. Half time results end up going out when the second half has already started.

It’s a small example of what definitely what lies ahead if the net neutrality issue goes the wrong way.


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