Net Neutrality

Words: 1128
Pages: 5

Political/Legal
Net neutrality remains a hot issue in the pay television industry, especially in light of the governments maintaining limits on Internet service providers' (ISPs, namely telecommunications operators, Verizon and AT&T, as well as cable operators such as Comcast, among others) ability to charge content providers for data traffic as well as, safeguard an open internet, as demanded by consumers protections groups.
The Federal Communication's Commission's (FCC) Open Internet Order of 2010 required ISPs, to treat all web traffic equally, regardless of source. It has since been brought up on a number of times. Verizon Communications filed a case with the US appeals court to repeal two of the three components of the legislation. The
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If federal regulators decide to allow the ISPs to prioritize speeds and access, this will surely impact the Netflix models of the industry. Either way it looks as though additional fees are in store for consumers - either by way of the streaming service providers or by ISPs (yielding growth and …show more content…
The phenomenon called "cord cutting" is dramatically affecting the industry in a number of ways. With the enormous growth in use of mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.), the shift going from watching TV to watching video, including TV shows and movies, on the Internet via mobile and internet steaming home devices (includes online, mobile and other non-mobile connected-device activities, such as video streaming services - smart TV apps, Roku, Apple TV, etc.). The phenomenon is strikingly similar to the mid-2000s when consumers stopped using hardwired telephones to make calls in favor of wireless mobile cellphones. Additionally, the growing availability of wireless access spots is driving the shift. Here again, Internet content streaming providers are at the center of industry disruptions (Netflix, YouTube and even social network sites such as Facebook) as consumers move away from traditional pay TV