Net Neutrality: Joost's view
We looked at the issue of and asked if abandoning the principle could adversely affect competition and innovation in the UK. In the piece we heard from the BCC and from CEO of Vuze
We also recorded an interview with , which I've included in full below. He presents a nuanced view of the issue: while he accepts Ofcom's view that competition among ISP's is key, Volpi raises questions about how competitive the ISP market is in the UK.
I should also add, in this context, the statement given to us by the Department for Business, "This issue is part of the wider debate about the future of broadband and the government has asked Francesco Caio to look at the barriers to investment in next generation access. He will be looking at how the market might cater for increasing consumer demand for bandwidth and the factors that might affect decisions over upgrading infrastructure. It is though too early to comment on likely outcomes."
When we came off-air, listener Chris Hall sent a thoughtful analysis of the issue. Chris thinks net neutrality is a good thing but raises some interesting issues, principally who is going to pay:
Why should the ISP support a video service that is not prepared to pay to reach its customers? Suppose I decide to go into the mail-order aggregate business. Should I expect Royal Mail to deliver gravel by the lorry load at their expense?
The issue of who pays for the increased demand is of course central to the debate. The full text of Chris's email is in the comments it's a good starting point for a discussion, I hope you'll join in.
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