MONTREAL – With a CRTC decision on Bell Canada’s network management practices due out soon, and a new public proceeding on new media under way at the Commission, Montreal telecom and technology consultancy Seaboard Group wants the romance and rhetoric to cool.
In a new paper dubbed, “It’s Just a Tool. Reason, Not Romance: A Better Internet in the Balance”, Seaboard Group says net neutrality advocates (who believe all data should be treated equally, no matter what) “romanticize the Internet, bringing in emotional and even sensationalist rhetoric to their portrayal of its history and future. Treating the Internet as some sort of pastoral Elysium rather than a tool to be managed and used, we argue, would have dire consequences for the future health of the Internet should legislators/regulators attempt to embrace these misguided notions,” reads the report.
The research illustrates why the romanticized version of the Internet “is faulty,” says the release.
Net neutrality advocates paint themselves as freedom fighters and seem to distrust broadband providers, who must manage their networks in order for them to function properly, believing they will prefer some content on the web over others. While it is true that for some P2P applications which are programmed to gobble up all bandwidth available ISPs must limit their impact so that the network works for all, it’s not in the interests of the ISPs to limit where their customers can go on the web.
“We suggest that such a vision is based on false precepts, and how the regulations being called for by advocates of net neutrality, if put in place, will impede the growth, potency and relevance of the Internet in the future.”
Simply, the Internet is a tool – one of increasing importance to many, of course – and even though its ubiquity is growing, it remains “essentially a tool,” says the report.
“Our conclusion is that the government should forbear from overt regulation of the Internet. Let market forces, coupled with existing legislation and regulation that safeguard consumer and corporate interests, continue to shape the Internet,” says the report.
“In so doing, private capital investing in network provision and expansion will be rewarded. Operators that make the investments needed to continue to increase the quality of the product and enhance the user experience will also be rewarded. On the other hand, operators who invest too little and ‘shape’ traffic too much will find themselves with a dissatisfied and shrinking user base and diminished customer spending.”
The ideal role for government is to be gentle in its attempt to husband the online environment. “Our advice? Speak softly, and if there must be a stick, make it a small one. We might also suggest that it also carry some carrots–should the urge strike–to encourage specific innovation (like remote area access). A modicum of encouragement might well work more miracles than the threat of sanction,” it adds.
