This week’s ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals has the potential to impact anyone who uses the Internet…so, more than 2.5 billion people and hundreds of Internet-based companies, such as Netflix and Amazon. Here’s the deal about net neutrality, the FCC’s (News - Alert) rules for Internet service providers (ISPs), what this week’s ruling means and what it means for the Internet of Things (IoT).
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What is net neutrality?
There are a lot of things about the Internet we take for granted. When you start up your browser, you don’t think twice about whether you will be able to access any site you want, for any service you need, at the speed you expect. Net neutrality preserves the free and open Internet – it argues that no bit of information should be prioritized over another. It means ISPs can’t discriminate between different kinds of content, services and applications online, and it is the reason every website we visit works with the same speed and quality.
Without net neutrality, there would be something called a tiered Internet. Network providers could choose to discriminate and decide how fast data can be transmitted and at what quality, giving certain content providers more of an advantage over others. Without net neutrality, you could pay more for using Netflix than your friend who is using email – you’re both using the Internet, but are demanding two different levels of bandwidth.
The FCC and ISPs
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. Until this week, broadband companies were banned from treating different applications and services differently because of the FCC’s set of rules put in place in 2011.
The ruling this week challenged the FCC’s authority to regulate the broadband industry like this. ISPs fall into a different category from the traditional telephone companies the FCC regulates, so it can’t use the same tools it normally applies to phone companies.
What happened with the ruling?
The ruling stemmed from Verizon (News - Alert), which filed a case against the FCC saying the commission overstepped its authority to regulate broadband access.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals released an 81-page decision this week ruling that the FCC did indeed overstep its authority. Service providers can now make some traffic faster or block other services, but they have an obligation to notify customers they are doing so.
One of our senior editors, Peter Bernstein, has been covering net neutrality for years, and dove into the ruling in more analysis here.
What the ruling means for the Internet of Things
The Internet is growing so fast, especially as with the proliferation of devices – the increase in mobile devices, wearable devices and more are making up this huge trend called the Internet of Things. The term is pretty self-explanatory, but it is all about the growth of so many things becoming connected to the Internet: In our homes, companies are offering security systems, kitchen appliances, thermostats, TVs, garage door controllers, door locks and more that are all connected to the Internet. In our cities, traffic systems, emergency responders, parking lots, buildings, water management and signage are all joining the IoT. The list goes on for different industries and areas of our lives.
Bringing it back to the Netflix/email example, the same logic applies to the IoT. Carriers and ISPs have the power to control not just how much you are paying for these growing IoT devices and applications, but also the access, speed and quality. Will this impact future innovation? Will it slow down the expected explosion of IoT growth?
The future of the Internet is mobile. Without net neutrality, carriers will be able to control what applications and features are available based on what users pay for – in 2012, Free Press, New America Foundation’s Open Technology institute and Public knowledge accused AT&T (News - Alert) of blocking the FaceTime on its 3G and 4G networks to users in particular payment categories, such as those who do not pay for the new “Mobile Share” data plan but stick with their existing unlimited or tiered data plan.
The key to the future of the IoT and machine to machine (M2M) technology is making all of these different services, networks and applications integrate seamlessly. Without net neutrality, this will be a big challenge, as service providers now have control over what services, applications and devices can use their networks to communicate with others. FCC chairman Tom Wheeler (News - Alert) said in a statement the FCC is considering an appeals option, so stay tuned to see what happens in the development of net neutrality and the Internet of Things.
Edited by Ryan Sartor