eCommerce Blog 3

In the article Google Wants Its Own Fast Track on the Web by Vishesh Kumar and Christopher Rhoads they cover the developing hot topic of network neutrality. Recently, many proponents of network neutrality have began to back off their stance and take an adversarial view. Although the article does not go into depth on why many of the former supporters are doing this it does however provide the powerful names of the companies who are doing so. Previously, Google was one of the most adamant supporters of network neutrality but now the article says even they have began to switch sides and create allies with cable and phone providers. Additionally, those who have switched from their proponent view on network neutrality include Microsoft, Yahoo and even Lawrence Lessig.

Many of the current supporters of network neutrality argue that by allowing companies to fast track themselves on the web you are allowing them to ultimately skip ahead in line and choke off the competition that doesn't subscribe to the "fast lane". In contrast, the article says advocates of network neutrality "believe it has helped the Internet drive the technology revolution of the past two decades, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs". Also, many phone and cable companies see network neutrality as a negative thing and believe Internet content providers should have to share in their rising costs.

In my opinion after reading the article I believe network neutrality to be a positive thing. The strongest support provided in the article seemed to be in favor of network neutrality. Likewise, the reasons against network neutrality were very poor and really had no backing. It just seems to me like someone is trying to make a quick buck here. Reading the view of cable and phone companies it seems like they want to create a new source of revenue at the expense of others, due to the poor economy affecting their bottom line. To have an educated stance on this topic you would have to understand the real impact all the new Internet traffic is having on cable and phone companies. But with my limited knowledge on the subject I think things should be left the way they are. I think network neutrality is one of the reasons the Internet has became so popular, due to the equality in the sharing of information there is no bias to one certain group of individuals.