This presentation discusses net neutrality and its importance. It begins by defining net neutrality as the principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally. It then discusses issues such as whether Internet service providers could discriminate based on content type or charge more for certain content. The presentation also covers debates around whether regulation could encourage or discourage investment and innovation. Overall, it argues that how content is treated online could significantly impact the future of Internet services and their quality.

1. Net neutrality
Why it matters to you
Matthew “Buzzy” Nielsen
Assistant Director, North Bend Public Library
This presentation is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution United
01/07/2011 States license. For more information, visit http://www.creativecommons.org

2. What is net neutrality?

3. An analogy: electricity
All uses are prioritized equally.
Sources, from top then left: Fir0002/Flagstaffotos (Wikimedia Commons), bisonblog, dullhunk, and John McNab (Flickr)

4. Applied to the Internet

5. Applied to the Internet

6. What is net neutrality?
All content is created equal.

7. What is net neutrality?
All platforms are created equal.
E-readers Computers Mobile phones

8. What is net neutrality?
All users are created equal.
Companies
Home users Business users
Image sources: Per Ola Wiberg

9. The state of regulation
“ It's here: FCC adopts
net neutrality (lite)
”
~ ars technica, December 21, 2010 ~

10. The state of regulation
Wired networks Mobile networks
● No content-blocking ● Status quo maintained
●“Reasonable” network ●Internet Service Providers
management can discriminate (or not)
●Some charging for
additional services allowed.

11. Issue #1
Will there be content discrimination
and/or “network management?

12. Content discrimination
Content discrimination:
Making it easier and/or faster to access
certain sources or types of information
over others.
What's considered a neutral
way to deal with content?

13. Pay for better access?

14. Priorities: The Comcast NBC merger

15. Priorities: The Comcast NBC merger

16. It's not just academic:
Comcast + bittorrent
In 2008, Comcast was detected
slowing traffic for content
delivered over BitTorrent.

17. Double-dipping
$ $
$

18. Network management
Network Management:
Practices for companies running networks
that allow them to control types of traffic to
improve overall network performance.
What's considered a legitimate
network management practice?

19. Issue #2
Will net neutrality promote or stifle
innovation and investment?

20. Two different views
Would allowing discriminatory
pricing models encourage for-
profit companies to invest more
in infrastructure?
Would providing for neutrality
encourage competition among
different content providers?

21. N
et
0
5
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OECD Fixed (wired) broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by technology
Source: OECD, June 2010
US broadband = pathetic

22. 20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
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M
ex
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B
el
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Sp
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Average advertised broadband
ni It a
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d
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re
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it z
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Average advertised broadband download speed, by country, kbit/s, October 2009
Sl A
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ep
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un
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5
Source: OECD, October 2009
US broadband = pathetic

23. Issue #3
What about the mobile Internet?

24. Mobile data: The future of the Web
OECD wireless broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by technology
100
Dedicated mobile data
90 subscriptions
Standard mobile broadband
subscriptions
80
Terrestrial fixed wireless
Satellite
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0 Fi ny
un l
ay
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Countries with partial data
Source: OECD, June 2010

25. Investment is happening
Samsung GALAXY Tab
HTC EVO

26. But will we be nickel & dimed?
$ $
RSS News
$
Music
$
Shopping
$
Social
networking
$
Games

27. Issue #4
Should the government be
involved in regulating the Internet at all?

28. Regulation and innovation
Television Highly regulated
Radio Highly regulated
Film Self-regulated
Print Lightly-regulated
Internet Lightly-regulated

29. Is Internet sufficiently competitive?
Your broadband choices
in Coos County. If you're
fortunate enough to
have them.

30. The gist:
How content is treated on the Web will affect
what services are available in the future, how
they're accessed, and the quality of the
network on which they're delivered,

31. Questions?
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