Praise be to Michael for pointing out the Globe’s apparent misunderstanding of network neutrality in its piece today conflating that concept and the notion of pay per bandwidth in ISP pricing. It’s a post I’ve been wanting to write since I read the article earlier today and was annoyed almost, but not quite, to action.
Indeed, content neutral pricing is exactly the behaviour one would want to encourage as an alternative to a departure from network neutrality. And the real issue here – one which the Globe once again fails to raise – is whether the broadband market is sufficiently competitive in Canada to allay concerns about new pricing models. Before we pull out the violins for the ISPs on how expensive it is for them to upgrade networks, it would be useful to reflect on poorly we’re faring when it comes to access and pricing for broadband. Remind me now – when did the Canadian broadband ISP speed wars end? And why exactly did they end?
