A Visual Guide To Net Neutrality, Theopeninter.net

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By Salar Golestanian @ Sunday, December 26, 2010 :: 9:49 PM :: 415 Views :: 0 Comments ::

Further to FCC approval for the first “enforceable” net neutrality regulations last week. These rules face opposition from all sides, with some holding that FCC has overstepped its boundaries and others saying that the still unpublished framework does not offer enough protection. It is rather difficult to understand what Web Neutrality Means. Web designer Michael Ciarlo has given the site as a holiday gift of being able to explain to the less web savvy web members what net neutrality means with nice graphics, and why exactly we should care about the FCC’s recent attempts to create “enforceable” Internet regulations.

There’s a lot of complexity surrounding the issue than “All ISPs are inherently evil and want to charge you for Skype” Theopeninter.net does “The job of showing how things we get for free now, could one day be per item additional cost. This is what Ciarlo says.

“In November my console was updated to include ESPN3. To my surprise, much of the content was unavailable, despite being an XBOX Live customer with a broadband Internet connection. As it turns out, Time Warner Cable had disabled much of my access to this feature, on a device purchased independently of their services, because I didn’t pay for a cable package that included ESPN3. I was angered and frustrated that my ISP had blocked features of a product they did not sell or control.”

“I created TheOpenInter.net to depict a time in the future when ISPs control the Internet and all data is not downloaded equally. While creating the site’s design, I had the idea to bundle Netflix and Hulu as a package ISPs required you to buy. Halfway through development, I questioned the reality of my portrayal. Was I too far off-base?

Then to my surprise a wired article titled “Mobile Carriers Dream of Charging per Page” showed almost the exact same scenario. While there is no documentation within the article to prove wireless carriers have any current plans to implement a similar pricing structure, the fact that evidence exists to suggest its consideration is frightening.”

The idea of the FCC as an Internet traffic cop does not sit well with many. But what was actually voted on last week has still yet to be published, but according to reports it lays out two different frameworks for fixed broadband and mobile broadband traffic. In both cases carriers like Comcast or Verizon will need to provide transparency to customers and will be prohibited from blocking competing services such Google Voice or Skype.