Ending net neutrality - Big telco coup or boon for netizens?

Photo source: PEXELS.COM

What if you woke up on a fine Sunday morning intending to upload your pre-written post on Steemit, and had to wait more than 10 minutes for your blog page to load fully?

What if you called your internet provider only to be informed that you need to upgrade your internet access plan in order to attain faster loading speeds for certain popular sites?

Would you end up furiously typing a letter to complaint about this practice, and at the same time bemoan big telco's insatiable greed?

I think most of us will do so.

According to Wikipedia, "net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers must treat all data on the Internet the same, and not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or method of communication."

Hence, net neutrality levels the playing field and allows netizens equal access to information, regardless of their financial means or socio-economic status.

On 14 December 2018, the era of net neutrality came to a deplorable end when the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to abolish net neutrality and consequently opened the floodgates for big telco to milk netizens further by requiring them to pay a premium for high traffic sites.

This is fundamentally against the principle of ensuring equal access to information for all.

All is not lost, however, as the American Senate has come to the rescue by drafting a legislation to overturn the FCC's decision.

As reported by The Hill, "A Senate bill that would reverse the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to repeal net neutrality received its 30th co-sponsor ... ensuring it will receive a vote on the Senate floor."

Therefore, let us fervently hope that the American Senate manages to turn the tables against big telco, and restore net neutrality - one of the last cornerstones for an equitable society amidst increasing income inequality on a global scale.