Friday, February 6, 2015

What is the internet?

Lately, the FCC has given the internet a lot of attention. Two topics have been voted on, one considering Net Neutrality and the other changing the official definition of broadband. First off, Net Neutrality, to summarize what is it for those who do not know, can simply look at the video above provided by TechQuickie. This topic may not be important to most, to the people like me, who do, we are very passionate about topics such as this. The concept of slower access to content because of the content providers not paying enough money to ISP's to use internet fast lanes is enough to start arguments. The ruling for Net Neutrality is February 26, later this month.

Also, the FCC had voted to change the definition of broadband. Until recently, most US homes has access to broadband internet. The term broadband internet had the minimum speed of 4mbps/1mbps, that was until January 29. The two GOP members of the commission voted against the change, while the three Democrats, including FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, approved it. The new official definition for broadband is now 25mbps/4mbps. That is a big jump, considering most smaller towns or cities do not provide this speed to homes. According to the new definition,  20% of homes will not be able to access broadband internet, an enormous leap from the original 6.3%. It may be a sign for improved internet speeds for cheaper prices, it may also mean it will cost more for certain speeds.

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