The Triangle

Issue date: 5/15/09 Section: Ed-Op

Media Credit: Karl Kuchs

A few weeks ago Hulu signed a deal with Disney. This agreement means that ABC will soon join FOX and NBC by providing content on Hulu.com. CBS is still holding out on what many believe is the future of television. As more services are migrated to the Internet, net neutrality will play a large part in the evolution of the Internet.

The underlying framework of the Internet is improving, and the amount of data that can be transmitted is increasing. Currently, there is no difference in Internet data - it is all treated the same. Opponents of net neutrality want to change this. They want to charge users differently for different types of data. Internet users who want to watch streamed videos online would pay more than those who just want to read news sites. Removing the neutrality of the Internet would be very detrimental to many aspects of the Internet as we know it.

The only thing keeping net neutrality in place is the fact that it has been around since the early days of the Internet. It is one of the fundamental principles of the Internet. This freedom is what has allowed the Internet to grow into what it is today; anyone can make any site with a limited capital investment. A Web entrepreneur provides a service and leaves it up to the users to try it out. Internet sites grow rapidly because there is rarely a monetary commitment involved. In a situation where users have to pay more for premium content, the intrigue of new Internet applications is diminished.

Some believe that users would never pay more for such features. Cell phone plans are an example of the contrary. Customers typically pay different amounts of money depending on the type of data being used. Text data is billed at a different rate than voice data. Even though many are unhappy with the unfair pricing, the pricing strategy still remains. The telecommunication companies are setting their prices and people are paying them, because many believe that their cell phones are indispensible. The Internet has made such a monumental impact in our world that it may also be described as essential to everyday life.

There is a roadblock coming that may soon decide how the Internet will evolve. The amounts of services on the Internet are growing, but the prices for these services may also increase. Will users continue to pay for premium data usage online if they can still access similar services offline for less? Users may not even have a choice. One day all of these services may be exclusively online. While charging more for data-intensive usage seems inevitable, there are ways to implement it and preserve net neutrality.

Charging users based on the type of data used hurts all aspects of the Internet. The next reasonable solution seems to be capping bandwidth. Customers would have to pay for how much data they use much like cell phone minutes. This would allow all customers to still try new products and dictate what services they want. Internet service providers would receive increased profits for the increase in data that they transmit. Much like cell phone plans, overage charges will most likely still be absurd.



Roberto Salome is a sophomore majoring in computer engineering. He can be reached at op-ed@thetriangle.org.

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