The Covid-19 Pandemic Shows the Virtues of Net Neutrality
WiredNet neutrality—the idea that internet service providers should treat all traffic equally—might seem quaint during the Covid-19 pandemic. The order also reversed the Obama-era FCC's decision to classify broadband internet providers as "Title II" common carriers, similar to traditional telephone companies, leaving the agency with less authority to regulate broadband providers during emergencies like the pandemic. Net neutrality opponents claimed that regulating internet providers like telephone companies had hurt broadband infrastructure investment and that dropping the rules would spur more investment. Broadband providers and network infrastructure companies report that internet traffic surged by anywhere between 10 percent and 40 percent between February and March amid layoffs, school closures, and shelter in place orders. Comcast and Charter, the two largest cable broadband providers in the US, kept average internet speeds fairly steady despite the surge of gaming and video, without throttling major streaming video services, according to preliminary data from researchers at Northeastern University.
History of this topic
Net neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providers
The Independent
Column: Internet providers put hypocrisy on full display in challenging net neutrality
LA TimesDiscover Related
