WASHINGTON, D.C.—Over the last decade or so, the general public's need for higher bandwidth Internet has grown exponentially as people have moved from merely sending emails to streaming videos and downloading high-quality music files.
But as more and more data flows through the information superhighway, a sharp debate has formed over whether some content providers can pay extra for fast lane access or whether the Internet should remain equal to all.
Telecom companies wanting to offer high-resolution video or audio or other high-bandwidth services have argued for the ability to provide guaranteed, high-speed Internet access to certain Internet content providers. The companies say that since they have spent billions of dollars building the networks, they should be able to charge extra to content providers who use large amounts of the bandwidth available on those networks, such as Google or the Broadband calling service Vonage.
"What [Google, Vonage, and others] would like to do is to use my pipes free," said AT&T CEO Edward Whitacre Jr., in an interview with BusinessWeek Online. "But I ain't going to let them do that."
Yet Internet companies such as Google and Amazon.com argue that allowing telecom corporations to control the speed at which Internet users could access certain websites would create an unfair system. They argue that small-time websites would get pushed out in favor of content providers with deep enough pockets to pay for higher-speed access, and telecom companies could reward allies and punish rival companies through leveraging access speeds.
Internet companies, along with a number of smaller organizations, have pushed for "Net Neutrality"—government regulation of the Internet in order to prevent access providers from charging extra for higher-speed access.
They were dealt a harsh defeat on June 8, when the House of Representatives voted against a bill that would have enacted strong regulations on the Internet and enforced net neutrality. The vote, 269-152, fell mainly among party lines, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposing.
"I want a vibrant Internet just like they do," said Lamar Smith (R-TX). "They say let the government dictate it...I urge my colleagues to reject government regulation of the Internet."
Net neutrality advocates will now look towards a number of bills being introduced in the Senate, each with varying levels of restrictions on telecom companies.
A bill on the subject authored by Ted Stevens (R-AK) is scheduled for a committee vote next week. The bill, although offering certain consumer protections for using various web-based applications, stops short of regulating access providers' ability to charge for service and access quality.
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