I generally try to stay out of politics on this blog, but this time
something has to be said, as it affects anyone who uses the internet, at
least in the US.
Basically, a number of telcos and cable providers are talking about charging
internet content providers -- the places you browse to on the internet,
places like Google, Yahoo!, Amazon, etc. -- fees to ensure bandwidth to
their sites. Their argument is that these content providers are getting a
'free ride' on their lines, and generating a lot of traffic themselves, and
should thus be paying for the cost of bandwidth.
This is patently ridiculous. Content providers already have to pay for their
bandwidth -- they, too, have ISPs or agreements with telcos in place, either
explicitly or via their hosting providers. Sure, some of them, particularly
search engines, send out robots in order to index or find content, but,
again, they're paying for the bandwidth those robots generate.
Additionally, people using the internet are typically paying for bandwidth
as well, through their relationship with their ISP. What this amounts to is
the telcos getting paid not just by each person to whom they provide
internet access, but every end point on the internet, at least those within
the US.
What this is really about is telcos wanting more money, and wanting to push
their own content. As an example, let's say your ISP is AOL. AOL is part of
Time Warner, and thus has ties to those media sources. Now, those media
sources may put pressure on AOL to reduce bandwidth to sites operated by
ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Disney, PBS, etc. This might mean that your kid can no
longer visit the Sesame Street website reliably, because AOL has reduced the
amount of bandwidth allowed to that service -- but any media site in the TWC
would get optimal access, so they could get to Cartoon Network. Not to slam
Cartoon Network (I love it), but would you rather have your kid visiting
cartoonnetwork.com or pbskids.org? Basically, content providers would not
need to compete based on the value of their content, but on who they can get
to subscribe to their service.
Here's another idea: your ISP is MSN. You want to use Google... but MSN has
limited the bandwidth to Google because it's a competitor, and won't accept
any amount of money to increase that bandwidth. They do the same with Yahoo!
So, now you're limited to MSN search, because that's the only one that
responds reliably -- regardless of whether or not you like their search
results. By doing so, they've just artificially inflated the value of their
search engine -- without needing to compete based on merit.
Additionally, let's say Barnes and Noble has paid MSN to ensure good
bandwidth, but part of that agreement is a non-compete clause. Now you find
your connections to Amazon timing out, meaning that you can't even see which
book provider has the better price on the book you want; you're stuck
looking and buying from B&N.
Now, let's look at something a little more close to home for those of us
developing web applications. There have been a number of success stories the
last few years: MySpace, Digg, and Flickr all come to mind. Would these
endeavors have been as successful had they needed to pay multiple times for
bandwidth, once to their ISP and once each to each telco charging for
content providers? Indeed, some of these are still free services -- how
would they ever have been able to pay the extra amounts to the telcos in the
first place?
So, basically, the only winners here are the telcos.
Considering how ludicrous this scheme is, one must be thinking, isn't the US
Government going to step in and regulate against such behaviour? The answer, sadly, is no.
The GOP doesn't like regulation, and so they want market forces to decide.
Sadly, what this will likely do is force a number of content providers to
offshore their internet operations -- which is likely to have some pretty
negative effects on the economy.
The decision isn't final -- efforts can still be made to prevent it (the
above link references a Senate committee meeting; there's been no vote on
it). Call your representatives today and give them an earful. Tell them it's
not just about regulation of the industry, but about fair competition in the
market. Allowing the telcos to extort money from content providers will only
reduce the US' economic chances in the world, and stifle innovation and
choice.
