Net Neutrality - Advantages and Disadvantages

Net Neutrality – Advantages and Disadvantages

The net neutrality debate is not only waging in India but across the world. After all what is net neutrality and why is there so much controversy surrounding the matter? In simplest terms, net neutrality can be defined as the principle that all internet traffic must be treated equally. The supporters of net neutrality are of view that internet service providers should not have any right to restrict certain forms of internet traffic on their respective networks. Do you agree? Are you in support of net neutrality?

Advantages

• The big telecom companies can provide the ways but don’t have any right to direct how the people should walk on them. They cannot differentiate between the different groups.

• Net neutrality has remained a core democratizing tenet of the internet since the time it came into existence.

• Net neutrality protects innovation and if big companies like Google and Netflix could pay to get exceptional treatment, more bandwidth, faster speeds, the new start-up firms would be at a disadvantage.

• It will also negatively affect freedom of speech. In absence of net neutrality, the big companies could give priority to TV networks from videos it owns and slow down the signals from its peers.

• Net neutrality supports competitive marketplace and provides chance to every firm, from big companies to small start-ups to take part in it.

• If net was not neutral, Google, Facebook or Zomato would not have been able to reach where they are today. Curbing netizens right to a neutral net will be a big blow for the budding entrepreneurs.

Disadvantages

• Times have changed. Today YouTube and Netflix clog the pipes with huge amounts of data. The users download insane amount of software, music and movies illegally. The changes will put a restriction.

• The various companies like Google have created services that allow people to make calls for free on networks that telecom companies have spent billions to build. Net neutrality is injustice to these companies.

• Net neutrality do not protects innovation instead stifles innovation. If the telecom companies can charge higher fees to the prime bandwidth hogs, they can also afford to develop advanced fiber networks that support all forms of new Internet services.

• Some level of prioritization or restriction is essential to support the best interest of consumers as a whole.

• Bandwidth is definitely a limited commodity and regulation will help restrict illegal use of the platform.

Conclusion

The Internet has grown at an exceptional pace since its inception in the early 1990's, and this extraordinary growth is largely due to the freedoms and protections that net neutrality offers. Groundbreaking ideas and novel products like YouTube, Google, eBay and torrents have reached to where they are because of net neutrality. There are thousands of new online stores, start-ups, and simple ecommerce sites that hope to make big every day. Net neutrality promotes creative expression.