InternetNZ supports Obama's plan for net neutrality
The President might be spurned by voters, but the internet community is rallying around his latest policy.
Overnight, US President Barack Obama made some startling announcements about his plan for an open and free Internet.
In a televised address, President Obama advocated for a change in regulation so that Internet was treated as a utility. He also set out "bright line rules" to apply to Internet service providers that InternetNZ believes form a linchpin in policy covering Internet service provision – and that should be up for debate in New Zealand.
InternetNZ CEO Jordan Carter said that it was very pleasing to see the announcement from President Obama as the battle over net neutrality in the United States is getting tense.
" President Obama has set out four solid principles for network neutrality. He said that there should be no blocking, no throttling, increased transparency in the industry and no paid prioritisation of Internet traffic.
"All of these principles are incredibly important to maximising the benefits the Internet can bring us. An open and uncaptureable Internet will unleash more innovation than a captured and closed one."
InternetNZ is working towards a better world through a better Internet and is developing a discussion paper on Net Neutrality to make sure New Zealand doesn’t fall behind the U.S. – or any other country.
"We want to lead the discussion about what net neutrality looks like in a New Zealand context. The principles that Obama has set out are another piece in the puzzle, and are part of the discussion we need to have," Mr Carter says.
Although it's been a political hot potato in the US, net neutrality has barely featured on our MPs' radar. But, like North America, it's likely we'll eventually face a push by ISPs who are fed up by the likes of Skype and Netflix using their networks to deliver their services without incurring charges above other traffic. For consumers, all internet traffic being treated equally equals more services, more competition, and more technologies that disrupt incumbents.
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InternetNZ supports Obama's plan for net neutrality
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