Millions of U.S. Broadband Subscribers Are Experiencing Artificial Internet Brownouts
Natalie Nicol
Net NeutralityThe FCC and Media PolicyOn the day of the FCC’s historic Open Internet vote, Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that in addition to enacting the strongest Net Neutrality rules ever, the agency’s order would contain important provisions pertaining to interconnection.
This was welcome news for consumers and businesses that have endured widespread Internet “brownouts” stemming from the artificial congestion Internet service providers have created at network interconnection points. Far too often, customers have been unable to access the content they’ve requested at the speeds they pay their broadband providers to deliver.
Last year’s highly publicized Netflix disputes with ISPs were not the end of the story. And the FCC’s language about interconnection is not a cure-all for these kinds of anti-consumer practices. In fact, real-world experience shows that the problem remains very real today. The FCC needs to take a close look at the dramatic impact interconnection issues have on broadband end-users’ experience — and it needs to follow through and act as quickly as possible.
Data from Measurement Lab, which Ars Technica highlighted just after the FCC released its Open Internet Order, show that these massive slowdowns are an ongoing problem for customers of the nation’s largest ISPs. Consumers are being held hostage while ISPs try to extract a ransom from other carriers and Internet content providers.
Interconnection Is What Makes the Internet Work ... Until It Doesn’t
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