COLUMN: Net neutrality of paramount importance

Vineet Tiruvadi
University Wire
10-04-2007
(The Battalion) (U-WIRE) COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Click. Click. Type, click. That's what it took for me to submit this article. That's also what it takes for me to buy a moped or watch the latest musically inclined pet video. In the previous decade and a half, we've witnessed the growth of what our generation will be known for: the wonder that is the Internet. But it isn't all e-rainbows and unicorn2k3s. The issue of network neutrality has entered the spotlight and the questions it raises are going to have a marked impact on how all of us use the Internet.

Network neutrality is a fancy phrase for an equally fancy concept. The basic idea behind a neutral network is that the computers and control gates that control the Internet don't judge. All websites get equal treatment, allowing the upstart shopping site to load just as fast as a big corporate website. This principle is what the Internet has thrived on and has given rise to what we call the "openness of the Internet."

Recent innovations and technologies have changed the cyber landscape and the issue is no longer black and white. An increase in video viewing, music downloading and online gaming has started to take a toll on the Internet's inner workings. Watching a video requires a lot more data than reading a Web article, and that extra data has to come even faster to avoid the dreaded "buffering" beast. The argument that video data, and other content, should have higher priority has given rise to the antithesis of the neutral network -- a "smart" network.

But what does all this mumbo jumbo and jargon really mean? The difference between the two boils down to regulation. Some say that maintaining network neutrality through government regulation would stifle the innovation that has graced our desktops in the recent years. Others claim that ceding control of the vast "network" to individual broadband carriers will give them the power to stifle competition and regulate access to different parts of the Internet.

What's best for us? How can we push next generation technologies while still maintaining the internet's openness? We've seen what an open forum for thought and communication can do and it's impossible to overrate it. The benefits of a neutral Internet are clear.


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