The Internet Neutrality
Introduction
This research explores the intersections of the United States and global media politics, history of media, theory of democracy and policy of communication. There has been an investigation on the on the way in which both the media and the hamper and enable practices that are democratic.
Net neutrality has been witnessed publicized very widely in telecommunication policies of the US. Network neutrality broadly defined is a non-discriminatory interconnectedness among the communication networks that allows users to run the services, applications and the devices of their choice. In essence the neutrality of network does not allow treatment that is preferential or of specified content, services, applications and devices that can be integrated into the infrastructure of network.
The article widens the neutrality in the net debate while it briefly takes stock of the recent scholarship. In doing this it evaluates the current network neutrality debate and offering a set of technical and policy guidelines for a new more broadly defined open internet. Specifically it authors submit that which is past redefining network neutrality, one must connect issues that someone should deal with them in a separate manner. This implies issues that are actually a subset of one burning concern: struggling for internet that is democratic. The article concludes by exploring social and political impacts of the broader conception of neutrality in network.
The given recommendations give a proactive basis for a rather open and participatory internet. The project then builds an earlier formulation that was referred to as the New Network Neutrality.
Why Neutrality in Net Matters
The agree with the author that neutrality in the network helps in ensuring that telecommunication infrastructure remain inefficient in delivery of content and services equally in a best-effort manner that treats delivery of data in an equitable manner. This involves packets being delivered in a first-in first out method and at a maximum possible speed given the constraints of the network.
Many groups seem to be driven by a resounding opposition against all the governmental interventions, public interest calls; on the other hand they tend to stress on been open as their main concerns. Many groups and individuals within the freedom of internet coalition have sought neutrality in the net as an end in itself as others caution that net neutrality doesn’t restore common carriage fully and shouldn’t be seen as a good thing.
It is true that net neutrality is a retreat from the open access and this is what used to be there before the decision of brand X by the Supreme Court. It applied to the internet when dial-up was been used and classified as a service for telecommunication just like the telephone. Open access is the way one can get real competition without having many varied wires running underground.
Monopoly Power and Content Discrimination
An example of abortive attempt to admit only specific newspapers into the mail in early 1790s is given as part of content control. This has advocated fear today in the network neutrality. However the policy was rejected in 1792 on enactment of the Post Office Act putting into law principles of non-discrimination. Varied extents of discrimination have persisted, in general the opportunity for anyone to send anything anywhere without hindrance or discrimination was a basic assumption of the communication system of the United States.
Current State of Affairs
While neutrality on net helps in preventing many of the bad excesses of market it does little in solve some of the problems of the system that call for it. The lack of diversity of ownership and perspectives as well as the conglomeration of media provide a single point of view for discussions on the neutrality of network.
Exacerbating huddles in these critical media policy areas are state and national telecommunications law that slow innovation rate and competition in services of broadband hence the creation of digital exclusion environment. Many laws have been passed by states for limitation of competition and prevent innovation in models of business, investment by the public and public private partnerships in some way.
The newspaper for yesterday and the current internet may not be the same but their functionality in the society as well as within civil society has many similarities.
A related issue triggers the concerns over scrutiny. Recent attempts to examine network traffic encroach upon the rights of the users to privacy, creating an environment that is panoptic that looks down upon the civil society, creativity and public dialogue. Efforts of current law enforcement should go astray on the side of maintaining neutrality in network and allow collection of data of the user information that exhibits lack of understanding of the current state of technology and in actuality undermines long term enforcement of law goals.
Abuse of Monopoly of Market
Rising of telephone over the past century indicates that our current path has been tested before. The market is said to have broken open with a flow of free commercial and non-profit cooperative telephone enterprise. For instance and the Bell system as the primary owner of the telephone long distance service mostly denied the interconnection of independent commercial and non-profit cooperative enterprises when in competition of the local customers for phones.
Some of the unnecessary exploitation is observed from the words of the AT & T statements when they presented the view that providers of content should pay for the use of the network, but not the client to the network which had already been catered for by the customer in the internet access fees. They also said that if someone wished to transmit a high quality service without interruptions and guarantee then they should brace to pay for it. They were not to enjoy the service for free.
FCC Regulatory Environment
The question of access is treated as a critical element in determination of whether a network is being operated in manner that is open. The bottlenecks to access of network undermine the types of services offered, create artificial scarcity and lead to increase in the pricing and the lowering service quality. The exemplification of this is in the current national policy which surrounds the licensing of public airwaves.
The FCC has continued privileging a model for licensing that allows only a single entity to broadcast on a given group of spectrum usually at a specific power level location geographically.
Conclusion
The implementations of the given principles will lead to creation of a more participatory internet. Fundamentally an open system is solution to growth pf network and its innovation. The model does not address all material inequalities like divide in digital and lack of universal service issues which require a redistribution of resources.
Reference
Meinrath, S. et al (2008). The new network neutrality: Criteria for internet freedom. International journal of communication law and policy, Vol 12 pp225-243
Sascha M. Pickard, V. (2008) Transcending net neutrality: Ten steps towards an open internet. Journal Internet law Vol 12 Issue 6 pp12-21
Victor Pickard (2011). The battle over the FCC blue book: Determining the role of broadcast media in democratic society, 1945-1948. Media culture & society Vol 33 Issue 2 p171-191
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