Net neutrality was just repealed — here’s what that means for you

Net neutrality is over.

June 11 marks the repeal of the rules under which regulators treated all companies using the internet equally. Consumer advocates refer to that as an “open internet.” The Trump administration calls it “micromanaging.” Verizon  supported the FCC’s quest to end net neutrality, but Google the world’s most popular search engine, did not.

Here’s what net neutrality means for you

• People can purchase different internet speeds from their cable provider for different prices

• But that guarantees the same speed for all videos on sites you access with that account

• Net neutrality ensures that those speeds are equal regardless of what service you use

• An end to net neutrality could favor services that pay more to internet service providers

‘I have long supported common-sense regulations to prohibit internet providers from prioritizing certain content over other.’

Consumers also have a lot at stake. Repealing net neutrality rules will give internet service providers more power over what sites we visit and make it more difficult for new companies to grow, said Jonathan Schwantes, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union, a New York-based nonprofit. It will lead to consumers being strong-armed into paying higher prices for higher speeds, he added.

Net neutrality ensures some websites won’t be slower

Net neutrality was designed to make it easy for the Facebooks Netflixes  and YouTubes of tomorrow to succeed — or get a fair chance — without being penalized by cable companies and broadband providers with slower speeds. Advocates of net neutrality say new players won’t get a proper start if they can’t harness the full power of the Internet.

Without it, what we watch online will be controlled by a small group of big corporations, said Aram Sinnreich, professor of communications at the American University, Washington, D.C. “The real power of the wireless market will be unleashed with the 5G marketplace and digital companies want to dominate that,” he said. Net neutrality, he added, helped provide a more even playing field.

Online content could be controlled by a few ‘mega companies’

In the past, there were no preferential conditions for legacy cable companies. “The entire regulatory approach to the internet and digital services is changing,” Sinnreich said. “We are seeing a move back towards allowing communications and viewing to be controlled by just a few mega companies.” Without competition and innovation, consumers will have fewer choices of faster content, he said.

Without net neutrality, cable companies will be able to charge Netflix, Hulu and YouTube to prioritize their services and speed.

Without net neutrality, cable companies will be able to charge Netflix, Hulu and YouTube to prioritize their services. Netflix works with ISPs to secure faster streaming and has a monthly “Netflix ISP Speed Index,” meaning that Netflix plays at different speeds on different providers. Currently, Comcast is No. 1, followed by Cox, Spectrum, Verizon-FIOS, Optimum and Mediacom.

The majority (57%) of Americans support net neutrality rules to prevent internet service providers from blocking or discriminating against lawful content on the internet, this Consumer Reports survey found. Some 16% opposed them and 27% had no opinion. And 67% did not agree that ISPs should be able to choose which websites, apps or streaming services customers can access.

Others hope that the FCC’s plans to kill net neutrality go ahead as planned. Streaming places a burden on the network, which needs to be recouped, said William Rinehart, director of technology and innovation policy at the American Action Forum, a center-right policy institute. Consumers, he said, could download a movie at a faster speed for a higher price.

Schwantes sees the end to net neutrality as good for cable operators, but bad for Joe Public. “It would be an enormous loss for consumers,” he said.

This story was updated on June 11, 2018.