Wednesday, May 06, 2015

Net Neutrality

Can the electricity provider charge one more for using electrical items of a particular brand, or charge you less for the usage of another brand? The company providing the item would discount one's electricity bill.
Can the water provider charge one more for usage of water filter of a particular brand, or containers of a particular brand? The company providing the item would discount one's water bill.
Can the gas provider charge one more for usage of a particular brand of gas stove, or for cooking particular types of meals? The company providing the item would discount one's gas bill.

The answer seems to be NO.

On similar lines can the bandwidth providers charge based on the which company's data is flowing through the network?

The answer seems NO.

Now consider another set of questions.

Is the electricity usage charged differently for commercial customers and retail customers?
Is the water usage charged differently for commercial customers and retail customers?
Is the gas usage charged differently for commercial customers and retail customers?

The answer to all the above questions is YES.

Do the bandwidth provider charge a different rate for commercial customers and retail customers?
The answer is again YES.

Does it not sound that bandwidth is like utility? YES, it does.

If none of the utility providers can charge differently for different usage of the utility then why should the bandwidth providers be allowed to do so? It is not logical.

Or should the utility vendors also be allowed to do so?

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