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Network Neutrality

^{By: Katherine Wilson}

Network neutrality, also known as "net neutrality", is the belief that ISPs (internet service providers) must treat all internet traffic equally. Under net neutrality regulations, websites that don't showcase illegal content cannot be blocked or discriminated from one another by the ISP, preventing censorship and the use of unfair advantages paid for by large corporations. The ultimate goal of net neutrality is to keep the internet as open and unrestricted as possible through the regulation of providers.

ISPs and Internet Access

Types of Providers

Internet Service Providers come in different types and sizes with over 2,000 ISPs across the United States alone. While some of these ISPs are independently-owned by small companies in rural or remote areas, many are managed by larger corporations such as AT&T, Comcast, and CenturyLink. Large providers such as the ones previously mentioned can afford to offer coverage to larger, more populated areas. However, not all ISPs are managed by the business world. Some municipalities provide internet access to their citizens in cities such as Longmont, CO and Monticello, MN. Individuals can be their own ISPs,

A Motorola modem

too. While the process of becoming an ISP can be lengthy and costly, sometimes it is the only option for residents of extremely remote locations or those who seek exceptional privacy.

Process of Internet Connection

While the different types of ISPs can vary widely in their structure, management, and coverage, they each have the same overall purpose: to provide internet connection to their user bases. ISPs accomplish this by connecting their users to their network. This all starts with the user’s device, the “client”. Each client has its own id number (an IP address), which is used in the transportation of information called “packets” whenever they interact with the internet. The sending and receiving of these packets between clients is handled by a variety of different devices issued by the ISP. For example, a modem allows for packets to be transported to and from servers (devices directly connected to the internet that store web pages and user data on their hard drives) while a router ensures that clients receive the right packets if more than one device is connected to the same network. Interacting with the internet can involve user data jumping between multiple networks before it finally reaches its destination. For the most part, connecting to the internet is a relatively complex process that requires many different devices in order for it to work. Because not everyone can afford to maintain their own individual satellite, wired, or fiber optic connections to the internet, most people across the US rely on ISPs for their internet access.

Internet Quality

ISPs have the power to control the quality of the service they provide to their users through bandwidth. Bandwidth refers to the volume of data, or packets, that can be exchanged across the internet for each client. As internet access services evolved from dial-up to higher-speed broadband connections, so did the amount of bandwidth used.

By allowing access to greater amounts of bandwidth on certain sites, ISPs can grant users faster connection speeds. Conversely, by restricting bandwidth, ISPs can slow down a user's connection since data can't be transferred in high volumes. The act of deliberately reducing bandwidth and slowing down connection speeds is known as throttling. Throttling is often used by ISPs to reduce congestion on their networks during busy hours of the day, but it can also be used maliciously to deter users from accessing certain sites.

Provisions of Network Neutrality and the "Open Internet"

Since the internet's steady rise to household use, the dependence of most users on ISPs for internet access has led to countless issues over the decades, sparking political debate over how they should be regulated. One of the more well-known issues revolves around the idea of net neutrality and its enforcement.

Equal Treatment

At its core, the ideology behind net neutrality entails that every website on the internet is treated equally in terms of service quality by ISPs. In other words, users should have the same experience visiting the website of a local restaurant versus one of a large chain, for example. Net neutrality regulations maintain this vision by preventing ISPs from allowing larger businesses to pay for better quality connections to their websites. It intends to prevent certain companies from having access to premiums their competition cannot afford, which would allow them to snuff out smaller businesses that can't compete. Considering how many parts of the modern economy, such as the streaming and online retail industries, are heavily dependent on the internet, the presence of net neutrality or lack thereof is often believed to make a difference in which companies gain more customers and which ones don’t.

Open Internet

Preventing service inequality is just one of the many goals that net neutrality seeks to accomplish. Another is to create and maintain the “open internet”. An open internet means that internet users can go to any legal website they want at any time, regardless of whether or not the website in question is endorsed or affiliated with the user’s ISP in any matter. This prevents the unfair censorship of competition and information that users could experience in an ISP-regulated internet.

In his November 2014 address, U.S. President Barack Obama addressed his vision of the open internet and what would be considered the main points of net neutrality:

• "No Blocking" - ISPs cannot prevent their customers from visiting certain sites
• "No Throttling" - ISPs cannot accelerate or slow down the speeds of certain websites at will
• "Increased Transparency" - ISPs must disclose their service practices to their clients and business partners
• "No Paid Prioritization" - ISPs cannot give certain websites better treatment because their parent companies paid a premium

History

Brief Timeline of Notable Net-Neutrality Events in the 20th and 21st centuries

Dates	Events
1996	Telecommunications Act signed into law by President Bill Clinton, allowed anyone to enter the communications business (internet, cell service, etc.). First telecommunications law passed in the United States in over 60 years.
Early 2000s	ISPs caught blocking certain phone calls and stopping users from setting up their own routers and VPNs.
2003	The term "net neutrality" first coined in a paper.
2008	FCC fails to prevent Comcast from throttling connections to certain sites.
2009	Discovered that Apple has been intentionally blocking Skype calls on iPhones.
2015	FCC passes net neutrality regulations that prevent the throttling and blocking of certain pages on the internet by ISPs and device manufacturers.
2017	2015 FCC regulations repealed, the censorship of data and manipulation of internet access by ISPs and manufacturers now allowed.

Net Neutrality Status

As of 2018, net neutrality is no longer in effect in the United States. After briefly being illegal for a few years, the blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization of certain websites became legal once again to ISPs. While the decision to repeal net neutrality regulations was met by backlash across the country, the FCC claimed that ISPs generally didn't take part in harmful, predatory practices and the 2015 restrictions were prohibiting innovation and progress from taking place in large providers like Verizon and Comcast.