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Since the dawn of the internet, the companies that operate the lines and switches have operated under the principle that everyone on the wire has an equal right of access. The principle is known as net neutrality, and for the most part it has been supported by the big players. But new documents have come to light that suggest some of the internet’s biggest names – including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft – could be quietly backing away from the status quo. According to reports in the Wall Street Journal this week, Google has approached a number of internet data carriers in an attempt to strike a deal where, if you believe some vocal critics, it could buy its way to the front of the pipe. Google’s plan, internally codenamed OpenEdge, would locate Google’s own servers inside the data centres of ISPs. Critics claim the move is a radical departure from Google’s previously stated position. In a blog posted last year, Google lawyer Richard Whitt said the search giant opposed “prioritizing data packet delivery based on the ownership or affiliation (the who) of the content, or the source or destination (the what) of the content; or building a new "fast lane" online that consigns Internet content and applications to a relatively slow, bandwidth-starved portion of the broadband connection.” This, according to prominent net neutrality blogger Richard Bennett, means Google is performing a U-turn. He wrote: “Net Neutrality advocates have insisted on a wall of separation between content and infrastructure, and this deal, if it happens, brings down that wall. I’m happy with that, because I don’t see the prohibition on expedited delivery as a good thing. But Google should admit they’ve come around to my way of thinking about the Internet instead of insisting nothing has changed.” But Whitt described the Wall Street Journal article as “confused”, saying: “We've always said that broadband providers can engage in activities like colocation and caching, so long as they do so on a non-discriminatory basis.” He added: “Google remains strongly committed to the principle of net neutrality, and we will continue to work with policymakers in the years ahead to keep the Internet free and open.” It has also emerged that Microsoft and Yahoo have withdrawn from a two year old agreement enshrining the concept of net neutrality. In a statement, Microsoft said: "Network neutrality is a policy avenue the company is no longer pursuing." Opinion towards allowing some content providers to buy their way into an internet ‘fast lane’ has softened in some quarters in recent months, mainly driven by demands by carriers that providers of high-bandwidth content, such as video, contribute to the costs of network upgrades to cope with the increased demand for bandwidth. Lawrence Lessig, an internet law professor at Stanford University who is known to be close to President-elect Barack Obama, has recently declared support for content providers who want to pay for a faster pipe. But the position is at odds with Obama, who has in the past stated his support for net neutrality. "Once providers start to give privilege to some Web sites and applications over others, then the smaller voices get squeezed out," he once told Google employees. In the UK, the demands from ISPs have mainly been aimed at the BBC, whose iPlayer video-on-demand service has placed unprecedented strains on the country’s internet backbone. Regulator Ofcom estimated it would cost ISPs an additional £830m to upgrade their infrastructure to accommodate the anticipated demand for iPlayer. It seems to be the drive towards this kind of content that is driving content providers and infrastructure providers into each others’ arms. Graham Taylor Dec 16, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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