Why the Internet Is Threatened aka
Why the Internet Is Threatened aka - Ok, stay with me on this one: in this link, Tim Berners-Lee (commonly known as the inventor of the internet), writes an article about why the Internet as we know it is threatened. The problem, in my inadequate nutshell, is this: companies in the US are tending to put preference to one type of traffic over another, which could eventually extend to, say, Comcast making your connection to Barnes and Noble Booksellers’ website much faster than Amazon in exchange for payment from Barnes and Noble. This is a serious problem as it undermines the nature of the Internet.
What struck me most, however, is the anecdote that Berners-Lee leads off with. Keep in mind, high speed internet here in the US delivers about 4Mb/s. Compare: “In France, for example, I understand that the layers are separated, and my colleague in Paris attributes getting 24Mb/s net, a phone with free international dialing and digital TV for 30euros/month to the resulting competition.” At the current conversion rate, this is $37/month. Essentially, our internet here stanks.