Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality

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  700 University Ave Monroe,LA 71209 April 21, 2014 Dr. Claudia Grinnell English Professor University of Louisiana at Monroe 700 University Ave Monroe, LA 71209 Dear Dr. Grinnell: This report was written for my Professional Writing class. This topic was assigned to us at the beginning of April. The title of this research paper is “The Importance of Net Neutrality.” This report talks about why keeping the net neutrality policy alive is important, gives a brief history on the internet, and talks about arguments against net neutrality. In my research I have concluded that we, as American citizens, have the right to an internet that does not discriminate. Everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from, should be able to have the same speed and quality of the internet. I, for one, am afraid that if net neutrality is abolished then I will not be able to pay extra for this “new” internet. Thank you for taking the time to read my report. Sincerely, Ashley Toups Ashley Toups Student at University of Louisiana at Monroe
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  NET NEUTRALITY 1 TheImportance of Net Neutrality Ashley D. Toups University of Louisiana at Monroe April 21, 2014
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  NET NEUTRALITY 2 TABLEOF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE……………………………………………………………………………………...1 TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………….2 ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………….3 IMPORTANCE OF NET NEUTRALITY (level 1 heading)………...………………………..4-10 The Internet (level 1 subheading)……………………………………………………….4-6 Net Neutrality (level 2 subheading)……………………………………………..6-7 Problems (level 3 subheading)………………………………………….7-8 Arguments (level 4 subheading)…………………………………..8 Conclusion (level 5 subheading)………………………8-10 REFERENCES CITED………………………………………………………………………11-12
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  NET NEUTRALITY 3 THEIMPORTANCE OF NET NEUTRALITY Ashley D. Toups University of Louisiana at Monroe Abstract This report talks about net neutrality and its importance, history of the internet, problems consumers will encounter if the net neutrality policy is abolished, arguments against net neutrality, and what I have concluded. This report‟s purpose is to inform the reader about net neutrality. It will discuss what net neutrality is and why we need to stand up to Congress in order to save the internet and keep net neutrality. Net neutrality means that everyone can access the internet at the same “speed” and “quality” as everyone else (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). The internet made its start as an idea in 1962, and then became a reality and has grown ever since then (Computer History Museum, 2004). Without net neutrality some website we want to use might be “degraded or blocked off” by our internet providers (Network Neutrality, n.d.). I believe our phone and cable companies that provide us with internet are starting to get very greedy with money. I signed the petition to keep net neutrality. I believe the internet should not be prejudiced.
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  NET NEUTRALITY 4 TheImportance of Net Neutrality Net neutrality means that everyone gets the same “speed” and “quality” of the internet (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). This paper will discuss the history of the internet, why net neutrality is important, the arguments against net neutrality, and much more. The Internet The internet was first envisioned and talked about in 1962 by a man named J.C.R. Licklider of MIT (Leiner et al., 2013). He called it the “Galactic Network” (Leiner et al., 2013). J.C.R. Licklider is pictured in Figure 1. In 1966 Lawrence G. Roberts established the internet idea at DARPA and organized his proposal for “ARPANET”, which was published in 1967 (Leiner et al., 2013). “When SRI connected to the ARPANET, the first host-to-host message was sent from Leonard Kleinrock‟s laboratory to SRI” (Leiner et al., 2013). Four host computers were set up and connected through ARPANET “by the end of 1969” (Leiner et al., 2013). After this success, many computers were starting to be added to ARPANET throughout the years (Leiner et al., 2013). In 1970 Steve Crocker‟s Network Working Group (NWG) finished the ARPANET Host-to- Host protocol, which was called the Network Control Protocol (NCP) (Computer History Museum, 2004). By the end of 1971 ARPANET had 19 nodes and “the Network Working Group completed the Telnet protocol and made progress on the file transfer protocol (FTP) standard” (Computer History Museum, 2004). Figure 1: J.C.R. Licklider Courtesy of Flickr Images
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  NET NEUTRALITY 5 In1973 ARPA‟s name changes to DARPA (the „D‟ stands for defense) (Computer History Museum, 2004). Two programs begin during this year (Computer History Museum, 2004). “The Packet Radio site are modeled on the ALOHA experiment…” (Computer History Museum, 2004). They networked seven computers on four islands (Computer History Museum, 2004). The second program was satellite connection (Computer History Museum, 2004). This linked “to two foreign sites in Norway and the United Kingdom” (Computer History Museum, 2004). In 1977 the Apple II computer was introduced (Computer History Museum, 2004). “Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn mount a major demonstration, „internetting‟ among the Packet Radio net, SATNET, and the ARPANET” (Computer History Museum, 2004). THEORYNET was created by Larry Landweber of the University of Wisconsin (Computer History Museum, 2004). THEORYNET enabled emailing between over 100 researchers and much more (Computer History Museum, 2004). By 1981 over 200 computers were set up in institutions through CSNET (Computer History Museum, 2004). This was the year the IBM PC was launched (Computer History Museum, 2004). In 1982 „the computer‟ was named „Man of the Year‟ in Time Magazine (Computer History Museum, 2004). In 1984 the Macintosh was introduced by Apple (Computer History Museum, 2004). The author William Gibson created the term „cyberspace‟ in his book called Neuromancer(Computer History Museum, 2004). “Datapoint, the first company to offer networked computers, continued in the marketplace, but failed to achieve critical mass” (Computer History Museum, 2004). In 1989 networks started to increase in how fast they work (Computer History Museum, 2004). Throughout the year “the number of hosts increased from 80,000…to over 160,000” (Computer History Museum, 2004).
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  NET NEUTRALITY 6 In1990 ARPANET is no longer functioning. “‟The net‟ has grown from 4 to over 300,000 hosts” in the past twenty years (Computer History Museum, 2004). Other countries start to connect such as Brazil, Chile, Greece, India, South Korea, Spain, and Switzerland (Computer History Museum, 2004). Many “search tools” and “institutions” start to come “on line”, such as ARCHIE, Gopher, Dow Jones, and Dialog (Computer History Museum, 2004). More information about the history of the internet is provided in Figure 2 of the timeline. Net Neutrality One reason why net neutrality was set up was to keep phone companies like AT&T, that provide their customers with internet service, would not turn the internet into something like television channels from a cable company (Marsden, 2010). Customers order television channel packages through their cable company (Marsden, 2010). Customers pay a certain price to get certain Figure 2: Internet Timeline Courtesy of Google Images
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  NET NEUTRALITY 7 televisionchannels (Marsden, 2010). Net neutrality allows anyone and everyone to access any website on the internet with the same “speed” and “quality” (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). Without net neutrality customers might have to pay extra for certain websites, or instead of using Google they would have to use their internet provider‟s search engine they choose or create (Marsden, 2010). Problems. “We connect to the internet through pipes owned by telephone and cable companies” (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). Now telephone and cable companies want to set up a faster internet but it would only be available to those who pay them a large fee. Over one million American citizens have protested this to Congress (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). A protester to save net neutrality is pictured in Figure 3. Here is an example of what it would be like without net neutrality: without net neutrality your internet provider could “degrade or block off entirely” a webpage you are trying to use (Network Neutrality, n.d.). For instance say you want to use Google but it is running too slow or you cannot use the webpage at all, therefore, you have to try a different search engine like Yahoo in order to find what you want (Network Neutrality, n.d.). Without net neutrality there will be “discrimination, double-dipping, and stifling innovation” (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). The internet was designed for everyone who wants to use it (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). It does not matter what social economic class the person is, what race, gender, religion, etc., anyone can use the internet (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). This is why when you search something you also get websites most related to your search and not websites that Figure 3: Protester Courtesy of Flickr Images
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  NET NEUTRALITY 8 paidthe most to be able to show up in your search (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). “Discrimination endangers our basic Internet freedoms” (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). “Double-dipping” is when a network owner will charge for the network you want to get on and then charge more for the things you do on the network (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). The owners might not “charge you directly”, “but they will charge your service providers”, and your service providers will pass the charge down to their customers, you (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). Net neutrality allows a good start for innovators and enables them to dream big. Without net neutrality innovators and beginners will not have a chance to grow because larger companies can pay more money in order to be in the top search lists (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). “On a tiered Internet controlled by the phone and cable companies, only their own content and services – or those offered by corporate partners that pony up enough „protection money‟ – will enjoy life in the fast lane” (Net Neutrality 101, 2014). Arguments. Congress‟s decisions will play a strong role on our internet (Jordan, 2009). “Congress is considering legislation” and “debate” over the net neutrality policy issue (Jordan, 2009). Telecom companies argue that advancing systems is expensive and that other large service providers like Yahoo are “not paying their fair share…and are taking advantage of the network providers” (Network Neutrality, n.d.). They also argue that tiered internet “is a natural step in the free market system and if anything, government regulation will only result in greater market failure” (Network Neutrality, n.d.). Conclusion.“The net neutrality policy restricts an Internet service Provider‟s ability to engage in anticompetitive behavior while simultaneously ensuring that it can use desirable forms of network management” (Jordan, 2009). If net neutrality is taken away and “the internet is tiered,” the hardest hit “will be to the consumers” (Network Neutrality, n.d.). In order to save net
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  NET NEUTRALITY 9 neutralityand fight for the internet to be free and open sign the petition here: http://cms.fightforthefuture.org/tellfcc/. Figure 4 is a graphic that is going around of what the internet could look like in the future and it looks scary and not cheap.
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  NET NEUTRALITY 10 References Ahybridosi.[Photographer]. (2009). J.C.R. Licklider [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=J.C.R.%20Licklider Computer History Museum. (2004). Computer History Museum. Retrieved April 25, 2014, fromhttp://www.computerhistory.org/internet_history/internet_history_70s.html Figure 1 – Internet Timeline [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366& bih=666&q=internet+timeline&oq=internet+ti&gs_l=img.3.0.0l10.1139.4555.0.6162.11. 10.0.1.1.0.562.1668.5j3j1j5- 1.10.0....0...1ac.1.42.img..2.9.1201.CunKVE32bXs#imgdii=_ Isaacson, B. [Phtographer]. (2014). One Frightening Chart Shows What You Might Pay For Internet Once Net Neutrality Is Gone[Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/17/net-neutrality-gone_n_4611477.html Figure 4: What the Internet might look like Courtesy of Huffington Post
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  NET NEUTRALITY 11 Jordan,S. (2009). Implications of Internet architecture on net neutrality. Implications of Internet architecture on net neutrality. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1516540 Leiner, B., Cerf, V., Clark, D., Kahn, R., Kleinrock, L., Lynch, D., … & Wolff, S. (2013). Internet Society. Brief History of the Internet. Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://www.internetsociety.org/internet/what-internet/history-internet/brief-history- internet Marsden, C. T. (2010). Net neutrality towards a co-regulatory solution. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. NET NEUTRALITY: conclusion. (n.d.). NET NEUTRALITY: conclusion. Retrieved April 25, 2014, fromhttp://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~raylin/conclusion.html NET NEUTRALITY: definition. (n.d.). NET NEUTRALITY: definition. Retrieved April 25, 2014, fromhttp://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~raylin/whatisnetneutrality.htm NET NEUTRALITY: other arguments. (n.d.). NET NEUTRALITY: other arguments. Retrieved April 25, 2014, fromhttp://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~raylin/other.html Net Neutrality 101. (2014). Free Press. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-101 Rhodes, S. [Photographer]. (2010). Save the internet Net Neutrality protest at Google HQ - GoogleRally 30[Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/search?sort=relevance&text=net%20neutrality%20protests%20
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  NET NEUTRALITY 12