This is Not a Pipe
“What if you didn’t have to pay for your data plan? What if the biggest data hogs on your phone — your music apps, your streaming video apps — didn’t count toward your monthly limit?” It sounds like a tempting pitch and, thanks to the recent court decision that neutered net neutrality, it’s one you could be hearing soon. But it’s not a good deal. Imagine an Internet where established, deep-pocketed players could pay to deliver their data at a faster rate, leaving the rest of the content and service creators to slog through the swamps of second rate pipes. Welcome to what Buzzfeed’s John Herman calls The Net Neutrality Nightmare Scenario. Trust me, it’s a way bigger traffic story than the one in Fort Lee.
+ GigaOm’s Mathew Ingram has an excellent roundup of what you need to know about the court decision that just struck down net neutrality.
+ For a really quick, simple take on what the decision could mean, take a look at Fred Wilson’s: VC Pitches In A Year Or Two.
+ In the meantime, (surprise) your Internet connection is slower than advertised.