A Free and Open Internet for an Innovative and
Competitive Economy
By Mac Clemmens
By Mac Clemmens
If
you're reading this online, thank net neutrality.
Net
neutrality is the principle that all Internet content must be delivered
equally. This article shouldnt be transmitted more slowly than another one.
Your cat video shouldn't be given priority over a TED Talk. More importantly,
your small business' website shouldn't be loaded slower than Amazons. Put it
this way: Net neutrality prevents preferential treatment; it is freedom from
interference.
That
freedom is crucial to businesses large and small. According to Fast Company,
Amazon calculated that just one more second of page loading time could cost
$1.6 billion in sales each year. Amazon could probably handle that loss, but
most small businesses probably couldnt, and some might not get off the ground.
Imagine if Hulu or Netflix had, in their infancy, been forced to pay high fees
or face tortoise-like loading speeds.
So
when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a proposal that would
have allowed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to slow down traffic and charge
a fee for higher speeds, small businesses took notice.
My
company serves nonprofits -- churches, domestic violence groups, educational
institutions -- groups that cannot afford to pay for faster speeds. Yet without
Net Neutrality, commercially-sponsored content would be streamed in no time,
while groups like these which are dedicated to helping people could see their
speeds slow to a crawl.
Our mission is to empower people who do good in the world. This proposal would be devastating to that goal, and the groups we work with.
Our mission is to empower people who do good in the world. This proposal would be devastating to that goal, and the groups we work with.
As
many as four million people commented on the proposal, with the vast majority
supporting net neutrality and less than 1 percent opposed. Business groups like
the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) joined in, helping to make the
business case for net neutrality: too many businesses simply can't afford to
have their communications slowed.
The
FCC should understand that there's a sure-fire way to protect net neutrality:
reclassify broadband to fit under Title II of the Telecommunications Act,
thereby giving the FCC the power to ensure that consumers be protected.
The
reclassification argument has support from none other than President Obama.
"For almost a century," he explained, "our law has recognized
that companies who connect you to the world have special obligations not to
exploit the monopoly they enjoy. It is common sense that the same philosophy
should guide any service that is based on the transmission of information --
whether a phone call, or a packet of data."
Small
businesses need net neutrality -- as does the economy as a whole. We can't have
a system where established companies with deeper pockets play by a different
set of rules. That runs contrary to the American entrepreneurial spirit. That's
why net neutrality has strong support on both sides of the political aisle.
ISPs
have argued that reclassifying broadband under Title II will harm consumers --
that too much regulation would snuff out investment and innovation, and lead to
larger bills. It is understandable that the industry would not want additional
regulation.
But in reality, reclassification would simply legally enforce the status quo. The Internet now is a place where content gets distributed equally, without forcing people to pay for the privilege. That's the way it should stay.
But in reality, reclassification would simply legally enforce the status quo. The Internet now is a place where content gets distributed equally, without forcing people to pay for the privilege. That's the way it should stay.
Yes,
ISPs would lose a potential revenue stream. But, considering ISPs have already
created an artificial scarcity in broadband by locking up a large percentage of
metropolitan fiber in agreements with municipalities, that's a poor argument.
ISPs
in many parts of the country already benefit from a near-total lack of
competition, and our Internet speeds are slower -- and cost more -- than in
many other countries. Letting ISPs interfere with traffic will only make
matters worse -- the Internet that works best is the one that works with the
least interference.
We
need an Internet that's open and free to all, and we must ensure that all
American businesses can remain competitive, both domestically and globally.
Covering broadband under Title II may not be ideal, but it's currently our best
hope to ensure the Internet remains a place for innovation.
Clemmens
is the Chief Executive Officer of Digital Deployment, a Sacramento-based web
development company specializing in content management systems.