In the US there’s a fierce discussion regarding the end of network neutrality. Basically it comes down to it that ISP’s offer a basic Internet access pack but will charge you extra if you want to use popular or bandwidth intensive sites like Youtube. Even though the discussion seems to limit itself at the moment to the US, you can be sure that ISP’s in other countries are following these developments with particular interest.
In an ideal market I wouldn’t worry about this phenomenon, if everybody opposes this system there will be new ISP’s that just offer the same open access we’re used to and the greedy ISP’s will be punished.
Unfortunately we’re not living in an ideal world and ISP’s are often owned by huge corporations that basically control the market.
The whole idea of Internet in the first place was an open network where everyone can access the same information without any kind of discrimination. People that travel the world already know that the Internet isn’t that open and free as before and it’s time to put a stop to censorship and avoid monetizing by ISP’s by charging extra for popular sites. So to say the least it will be interesting to see how this will develop and our wish for 2011 is an open Internet without censorship.
For an Ipin & Upin explanation visit “A guide to an open Internet“.
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