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You Get What You Pay For

August 5, 2010 7:56:54.076

The network neutrality crowd is up in arms over a proposed business deal between Google and Verizon:

Google and Verizon, two leading players in Internet service and content, are nearing an agreement that could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content’s creators are willing to pay for the privilege.

End users already get the same choice with their ISP - I could be paying more money for a faster connection than I have, but the symmetric 20/20 seems good enough for me for now. Additionally, Verizon and Comcast are already doing this - if you don't think that an on demand movie being streamed to your tv is getting priority over YouTube (et. al.), then you haven't really thought things through. If anything, this kind of deal at least allows content providers to approach parity with the content being pushed by the two big players here in the US.

You wouldn't know that from the coverage though; here's the NY Times, nearly fainting over this:

Such an agreement could overthrow a once-sacred tenet of Internet policy known as net neutrality, in which no form of content is favored over another.

Wake me when any of this actually matters. For all the yelling and screaming, we crossed the rubicon on this one the instant that on demand services popped up at vendors like Comcast and Verizon.

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posted by James Robertson

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