A two-tier internet: efficiency or elitism?

12.11.2007

Ask most web-savvy people about the future of the internet and they will probably mention 'Web 2.0', the application-centred boom of the internet and its byproducts: sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Google Docs. However, the internet has embarked on a much more worrying journey.

The starting pistol was fired in a recent move by the US Department for Justice to move us one step further away from the egalitarian model of the internet we enjoy today. They have ruled communications giants AT&T and Verizon should be able to charge contact providers for access to high bandwidth services. Such a ruling could pave the way for the creation of a two-tier internet turning the information super highway into a series of toll roads and congestion blackspots where users would either have to pay for preferential access and bandwidth or get 2nd class access for free.

The affective creation of two internets is great news for the ever increasing voice over IP (VOIP) and video traffic, now commonplace across the internet. Users would be able to reliably talk to their Great Aunt in Australia, across the internet, without the frustrating underwater sound when someone in the next room downloads the latest Sugababes track from iTunes. The prospect of high quality video streaming is also an exciting proposition which would dwarf the somewhat underwhelming recent offerings of Channel 4’s 4OD and The BBC’s iPlayer.

Before we get carried away with the excitement of fast video and good quality phone calls let us remember the underpinning founding principle of the internet: open access to all. A move towards a two-tier internet would go against this and start to discriminate against users based on price. It also throws up some very worrying questions. If I didn’t want to pay for preferential bandwidth and content would my Google search only return half the results I get today and would they all be small sites made in someone’s bedroom? Luckily Google are among some of the big players fighting the concept of a two-tier internet, but for how long?

Here at IE we would normally fervently campaign against any regulation of the internet. However, we believe that in this case, if something is not done to prevent the emergence of a two-tier system then we could soon witness an elitist network with many barriers to participation rear its ugly head. Ours is an opinion echoed by the inventor of the internet Sir Tim Berners-Lee who also thinks that "anyone that tries to chop it into two will find that their piece looks very boring".

The internet was originally setup as a tool for academics and government agencies to share information, for free. Does this make today’s internet too commercial and should we go even further? We would love to hear your thoughts on this so why not get in touch.

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