Net Neutrality

The advantages and disadvantages of its implementation in the Jamaican Context.

Discrimination

The concept of equal access to speed and bandwidth is relatively alien to the typical Jamaican internet user. Jamaican ISPs have always charged more for higher speeds and bandwidths. Users, both residential and businesses, are accustomed to the idea of paying more for better or faster connections. The idea of being entitled to the same quality and speed of service as the government or mega company is pleasing but not necessarily something that would be demanded by the Jamaican public. Its implementation will result in a disruption of the established status quo and may lead to negative feedback even from those who benefit in one way (e.g. in comparison to major corporations) but lose their advantage in another (e.g. in comparison to their employee).

Consumer Choice

Net Neutrality levels the playing field for ISPs and opens up an array of potential value added products and services which are based on features apart from the speed and bandwidth of internet service. Concepts such as roll-over gigabytes or minutes and subscription packages or inter industry bundles may prompt more development within the industry and expansion within the market. This in itself may also force smaller less influential players who are not financial able to add as much value to their product to lose out on the extra profit potential but consumers will ultimately be able to choose.

Innovation

Metering internet speed and bandwidth will generate more income for ISPs, creating the potential for more development and research in the industry. How much metering will be needed to drive innovation among ISPs and how much will be allocated to pure profit? How can this choice be controlled or justified and accounted for? These questions are not easily resolved in a developing country where structures for accountability and transparency are not as well developed as in some first world nations. It will be difficult to verify and justify the allocation of such “easy-earned” profits into research and development.

How much of this innovation is really needed? The technological infrastructure is already in place for the most part, most ISPs merely connect to larger backbone connections which so much un-accessed capacity that will not likely require replacement or upgrading in this generation. In effect we will be asking the Jamaican public to pay and keep paying for the same finished project while stifling the potential of small internet dependent businesses from developing to their full potential.

“The principle states that carriers and ISPs should treat all data on their networks the same, and not discriminate by user, app or content . . . There should be equity and no two-speed, two-track system, or the throttling of Internet download speed for pay or preference. ”

Professor Hopeton Dunn, director, Mona ICT Policy Centre, CARIMAC, University of the West Indies.