FCC Plan to Kill Net Neutrality Rules Could Hurt Students

Video plays a growing role in the education of students who turn to videoconferencing, streaming lectures, and other forms of high-tech distance learning to complete or extend their educations. But the looming end of net neutrality could make life harder, or at least more expensive, for such students. 

The broadband industry downplays the possibility of fast lanes. But education providers already face uneven treatment on many mobile services. For example, AT&T allows users to watch streams from DirecTV Now that don’t count against their data caps. But watching lecture videos does count against those caps. Net neutrality advocates worry that situation will only get worse if the FCC repeals its rules. "Killing net neutrality will throw us back to the Dark Ages," says Mike Caulfield, director of blended and networked learning at Washington State University. "And the people that is likely to hurt most are actually rural populations that don’t have face-to-face access to things like nursing programs."