Jasper, as with many in the industry, is concerned about the possible changes in the Internet landscape due to these governmental regulatory shifts. Here are some of the answers to questions we asked:
PD: Will the proposed rules really create a "pay to play" system?
JASPER: While we don't yet have a complete view of the proposed rules, it appears they may create the possibility for providers to disadvantage some traffic over other traffic, and to charge for faster or higher quality delivery.
PD: If so, what's the impact on smaller providers? On Sonic.net?
JASPER: Smaller providers would likely lack the leverage to exact tolls from content providers. In one sense this could disadvantage us, because this income wouldn't be available. But on the other side, the more congestion and poor performance that large providers create on their networks in order to justify a "toll fast lane," the better Sonic will perform by comparison.
PD: Will this affect the quality of Internet content available to consumers? The cost? The speed of my home or work connection? My phone?
JASPER: Yes, it could affect all of these things.
(For example, Jasper noted that during a recent dispute between Comcast and Netflix, Comcast controlled the bandwidth of delivery and Netflix users were unable to stream their movies and shows adequately.)
PD: Backers say that this will help competition. Do you agree?
JASPER: I don't see how a disadvantage applied to some Internet traffic could help the Internet and new web services. But it could help competitive providers differentiate their service offerings by avoiding the congestion.
PD: If this is one step in a regulatory shift, what might come next? A worst case? A best case?
JASPER: A regime of "pay to play" for sites on the Internet (as opposed to "pay for access," where end-users subscribe and pay today) could threaten innovation in web services. In particular, video delivery and latency-sensitive applications such as gaming could be affected, unless they were willing to pay to reach end-users. That's a large potential issue for web start-ups in these categories.
Greg Retsinas is digital director for The Press Democrat.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: