Net neutrality rules were officially stripped Monday, eliminating laws that prevented internet service providers from charging more for specific content or favoring particular applications.
Why It’s Important
Telecommunications and cable firms — Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, AT&T Inc. T, Sprint Corp S, T-Mobile US Inc TMUS, Comcast Corporation CMCSA and DISH Network Corp DISH — can now charge consumers more based on the content they choose to access and site bandwidth use and traffic.
Customers of bandwidth-exhaustive Netflix, Inc. NFLX may see the cost of site access rise above what it costs to read text on Facebook Inc FB.
On the other hand, ISPs may opt to maintain equal costs but slow the completion of specific activities. AT&T, for example, may reserve faster speeds for its DirecTV Now and slow speeds on Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN Prime Video, a move that would drive users toward its services.
Some on the Federal Communications Commission, however, expect the change to encourage ISPs to invest in more competitive technology and accelerate speeds, thereby improving the consumer experience.
What’s Next
Some expect nothing to change under the new rules.
“It would be business suicide to throttle,” Mark Cuban told Benzinga back in December.
If he’s wrong, connectivity could become frustrating, and development and adoption of the Internet of Things may see delays.
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