Whereby the internet has become one of the most basic necessities of life, allowing for a neutral net in the present age is nothing less than going back to the Stone Age.
#Internet usage is not restricted to sending emails from the office or using Yahoo messenger on dial up anymore. It has evolved over the years. Now, subscribers for high-definition video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu are increasing day by day. COVID-19 has added to the increase in use of instant video services over Zoom, Skype and Facetime. Platforms like Youtube and Twitch are not just means of entertainment, but industries producing revenues in the millions of dollars. We pay for these services, but not the data usage, and the lack of payment for use of data is one of the major disadvantages of neutral net policy, especially for the service providers. The Internet services providers continue to provide high data for extreme data usage. It is unfair and de-motivating for the service providers, leading to a potential decrease of investing into their infrastructure.
The regulations for net neutrality are opposed by a number of industries and groups including internet providers, economists, civil rights groups and technologists etc. Alcatel-Lucent, Panasonic, Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, IBM, Verizon, and AT&T are just a fraction of the companies and groups opposing the net neutrality policies
It is not just the companies earning from internet and relevant technologies that are opposing the idea. Numerous civil rights groups including Jesse Jackson’s PUSH and the National Urban League are also against the regulations of net neutrality. They believe that by regulating broadband internet as a utility can hurt minority communities by smothering investment in those areas that are still underserved.
Those supporting net neutrality believe that a more regulated internet is important because they believe the ISPs will cause a split in bandwidth, where the wealthy can enjoy excellent internet access and everyone else will be down to the leftovers. However, this is inherently false. Such a hardline world cannot exist in the present day or in the future. The ISPs can continue to provide services with different packages and price points without net neutrality regulations in place. However, if net neutrality regulations are put in place, innovation will be stifled and the internet will be a mess.
