Decoding “Network Neutrality”: A User-Friendly Explanation of Verizon v. FCC and Its Impact on Latinos

[Commentary] We, as consumers, pay broadband Internet providers such Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T and Verizon, to provide us with connections to the Internet. Most of us have only one or two choices when it comes to home broadband Internet service providers. And usually these Internet connections are very expensive. In fact, broadband in the US is exponentially more expensive (and slower) than in many other countries across the globe.

These broadband providers are distinct from Internet content and application providers, such as Facebook, YouTube, Netflix and any host of blogs, etc., that we enjoy over our broadband connections. These content and application providers, commonly referred to as “edge-providers,” also pay broadband providers for their Internet connections. The Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules accomplished three critical goals. First, they ensured that once we had paid the hefty price for our connections, that our broadband providers could not block our access to any lawful edge-providers. Second, they ensured that our broadband providers could not discriminate against any edge-providers. This prohibited them from cutting special deals with wealthy corporations to speed up connections to entrenched corporate edge-providers, and slow down or degrade the quality of our connections to edge-providers that cannot pay extra to go faster. Third, it required our broadband providers to disclose how they manage online traffic.