Too bad those of us on the side of net neutrality were so naïve. I looked in the RFCs and saw that the Internet was defined as a “best effort” network, which seemed to embody the principles of net neutrality. So, like most other people, I assumed that the de facto state of things was that all packets were being treated equally and what the ISPs were looking for was a change in the status quo.
Silly me.
What turns out to be the case is that some ISPs have all along given priorities to different packet types. What AT&T, Comcast and the others were trying to do was to find a way to be PAID for priority access — priority access that had long existed but hadn’t yet been converted into a revenue stream.
Read We Don’t Need No Stinking Best Effort by PBS’ Robert I Cringely. Contribute your knowledge of “Net Neutrality” and the concept of a “Best Effort Internet” to the Whats New Media Wiki
