[opendtv] How Obama, the FCC and Netflix are Duping America on Net Neutrality | Fox Business
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2015 08:54:59 -0500
This is an opinion piece...
http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2015/02/05/how-obama-fcc-and-netflix-are-duping-america-on-net-neutrality/?intcmp=ob_homepage_business&intcmp=obnetwork
How Obama, the FCC and Netflix are Duping America on Net Neutrality
Since its inception, the Internet has been more or less free of government
regulation. We all have unfettered and uncensored access to everything posted
online. If the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and President Obama have
their way, that will soon change.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has proposed strict “net neutrality” rules that, if
approved by the commission on Feb. 26, will regulate broadband Internet service
as a public utility in much the same way the agency regulates
telecommunications companies.
Sadly, consumers have been duped into supporting this travesty through
misinformation and fear mongering by self-serving government officials,
consumer advocates, and corporate executives. And just as with ObamaCare, there
will be no walking this back once it’s done.
At the heart of the controversy is Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who has
essentially claimed that Comcast and other broadband Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) were intentionally throttling Netflix traffic in an attempt to extort
the streaming video company to pay exorbitant fees for direct connections.
Apparently, none of that is true. What actually happened, according to a great
Forbes article by best-selling author Larry Downes, is this:
Netflix had for years been using third-party networks from companies such as
Cogent and Level 3 to get its content to ISPs that control the “last-mile” to
consumers. That worked fine until Netflix content ballooned to nearly a third
of all Internet traffic during peak periods, straining Cogent’s network.
It was never Comcast, Verizon or any other ISP throttling Netflix traffic, it
was Cogent. During periods of heavy network usage, Cogent apparently slowed
down its big wholesale customers like Netflix in favor of its retail customers,
a practice it failed to disclose until recently.
That’s why Netflix traffic sped up as soon as it cut direct-connect deals with
Comcast and other ISPs. Cogent was cut out of the back-end network. Problem
solved.
Not surprisingly, large Internet content providers like Google, Amazon,
Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and eBay and large content aggregators Akamai and
Limelight have long-standing direct interconnection deals with nearly every
large ISP. And now Netflix, which generates more traffic than all of them, does
too.
That’s why you have no problems getting content from anyone and everyone. The
free market worked it out the same way it’s been doing for decades, with new
technology and business agreements and essentially no government oversight. And
all those back-end deals, also known as paid peering agreements, have
absolutely nothing to do with the last-mile to your home.
Meanwhile, all the nonsense about paid prioritization and Internet fast lanes
that would favor some content over others is nothing but fear mongering by
consumer groups that want government controlled everything.
The truth is, no ISP would ever consider something as ludicrous as
discriminating against specific Internet content or prioritizing what comes
down the last-mile to your home. Nothing like that has ever happened over the
more than 20 years the Internet has been around and nothing like that ever
will. The entire notion is idiotic.
When it comes to net neutrality, there are only three questions anyone needs to
ask and here are the answers:
Q: Did Comcast or any other ISP throttle Netflix traffic? A: Nope.
Q: Then why is Hastings fighting so hard for the FCC to step in? A: Unlike all
the other big content providers, Netflix has a lousy business model. He’ll
apparently do just about anything to get a free ride on content delivery and
improve the company’s slim profits.
Q: What if ISPs continue to consolidate and increase their pricing power? A:
That’s an antitrust issue for the Justice Department and the Federal Trade
Commission. Those agencies have the power to approve or kill any such mergers.
Mark my words. If the Obama administration and the FCC manage to pull off this
massively manipulative and devious power play and end up in control of
broadband Internet service, we will all pay for it in more ways than one.
Senator Ted Cruz was right. Net Neutrality is ObamaCare for the Internet.
Steve Tobak is a management consultant, former senior executive, columnist and
author of the upcoming book, “Real Leaders Don’t Follow." Tobak runs Silicon
Valley-based Invisor Consulting where he advises executives and business
leaders on strategic matters. Contact Tobak. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter or
LinkedIn
Other related posts:
