How Net Neutrality Affects the Cloud
Posted on 05. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey in Features, News
Rumors are swirling that there are some intense discussions going on between Google, Verizon and other interests for a pact on net neutrality. This has been a hotly contested topic as Verizon wishes to set up deals with certain content networks to prioritize certain traffic on the web such as video and other high-bandwidth services.
The Washington Post points to six interests in the talks, which are Google, AT&T, Verizon, Skype, a cable trade association and the Open Internet Coalition. Instead of having the FCC regulate neutrality on the internet, these six have come together to reach a consensus on internet traffic.
If structured right, this would be good for the future of cloud computing. In a world where software is ever-increasingly a service on the web (see Google), the traditional walls to starting a company are broken down. One person with a good idea can come up with a product or service, and use the power of the web to get that idea off of the ground.
Since Google relies on bandwidth to push its expanding wealth of services over the web, I would think that they have a keen interest in making sure that everyone is on a level playing field since they provide a large platform which scatters people all over the web.
Having different “speed limits” so to speak for different parts of the web would be maddening, to say the least. We’ll see where this one goes.
UPDATE: The Google Public Policy Twitter account posted that they are “committed to an open internet”.
