14 DAY TRIAL // That Net neutrality plan sounds great for users, but Cisco boss John Chambers warns that there could be massive problems down the line if Internet companies can’t make money on high speed Internet.
That’s because if their investments aren’t paying off, they’re not going to invest billions to build faster networks, he said.
In a chat with Wall Street analysts, he said that President Obama’s plan for the Internet, the very same that’s been backed by millions of Internet users who sent the FCC their opinion on the topic and even more that didn’t get that involved in the situation.
What Obama had to say
As a reminder, the White House issued an official statement earlier this year, telling the FCC that it wants them to protect Net neutrality fully, to make sure there’s no speed throttling, no fast lane deals and nothing that would threaten the very idea of Net neutrality. Obama went as far as to say that reclassifying ISPs as common carriers and therefore turning broadband Internet into a utility is the best idea to move forward and to make sure that these companies behave.
Using Title II would stop Internet companies from allowing some content to travel faster than other content. For instance, Comcast could allow Hulu, which it partly owns, have a better connection than Netflix.
Obama’s letter was meant to put the FCC back on track after several media outlets said that sources within the Commission indicated that Wheeler had set eyes on a hybrid proposal, one that wouldn’t really change much and that would turn it into an overseer of the fast lane, without actually putting a stop to it.
Former telecom lobbyist Tom Wheeler, current FCC boss, isn’t really convinced that he’s going to follow Obama’s words to the letter, although the White House statement didn’t really leave much room to argue.
No more investments in networks
Chamber insists that Obama’s plan would hurt innovation, because ISPs won’t be able to invest because they wouldn’t be getting money from the fast lane deals. He even states that some companies are already struggling to make money so Net neutrality would only make things harder for them. AT&T, for instance, said that they’re going to spend even less if Obama’s plan gets approved.
The fact is that these ISPs keep getting money from subscriptions, which are already entirely too high for the kind of services they’re offering, compared to other countries. Internet speeds in the United States are embarrassingly low, while the monthly fees are exorbitantly high.
Allowing ISPs to sign fast lane deals would give them control over the kind of content people consume, which is obviously a big problem. If ISPs no longer want to invest in their broadband networks because they have to obey Net neutrality rules, others will soon rise in their steed, offering better connection, better speeds, better customer service and lower fees. Google is already working on expanding its networks and has big plans for the wireless bands as well, proving that it’s possible to offer gigabyte speeds at decent prices.
