Skype on Net Neutrality: We’re so big, you can’t block us
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At the VON Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, James Bilefield, general manager of the Skype European division, refreshed a populist maxim: We’re growing so numerous and becoming so big that they will so forced to listen to us.
Giving the example of Brazil blocking Skype last year, but then backing out due to citizen protest, he insisted that “the community has the power to change things”, according PC Advisor.
The speech was aimed to those Internet service providers, telcos and cablecos, which are eager to block Skype calls. VoIP calls are simply unbearable for their bandwidths, they claimed. This will damage the profit margin and even can take away their user base from them.
Worries about Skype fame propagation looks similar to fears about illegal P2P platform. That was a couple of years ago and for different reasons. But Skype’s strategy hasn’t differed from the Kazaa’s one: Watch out, you can’t stop this technology to emerge, because we’re doing this for people.
May 19, 2006 | By Nuno
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The government can try to get their hands into controlling the internet but it wouldn’t be what it is today if it had always been controlled by them. Consumers will protest any company that attempts to prevent them from viewing what they want to see. Net Neutrality will only cause further conflict and chaos in the long run.
These statements are tremendously ironic, given that Skype is being used as a tool for proponents of net neutrality legislation. They have a point, though. If companies want to block sites that are integral and valuable to their consumers, they will be swiftly put out of business by thse very consumers. Advocates of government regulation ignore the benefits of a free market, but Skype didn’t arise out of governmental regulation.
The people will be heard! All this time and effort should be put toward developing better technologies and services and let the consumer dollar dictate from there! Then, we can thankfully let Alyssa Milano can get on with her “career”!
tpwk, great point. of course the market will severly punish a telco if and when they block service. that’s why it hasn’t happened yet and isn’t a real threat in the future.
Power to the people! They forced the gov’t to back down in favor of Skype - and they will do the exact same thing to any ISP that starts to interfere with their Internet experience. The consumer has been, and will continue to be, the final authority here. With that in mind, net neutrality seems to be more than a little excessive.
The Internet became what it is today thanks to those who saw something we never could - a place for technology and innovation. If we let goverment regulation interfere, where will that land us? We’ll be left with a stagnant Internet, and I don’t think anyone wants that!
So a few of the content providers are able to admit the truth: that the public will not stand to have the sites and services it wants denied to them. Kudos to Skype for speaking their mind and not jumping on a self-serving bandwagon!
Where would the Internet be today if it wasnt for competition? I would like to see what Google would be! Technology companies are now coming out opposing net neut. That shows this regulation isnt set out to benefit all companies equally. Doesnt really scream “neutral” does it?
I like where Skype’s head is at on this one. I don’t know if it is there intention or not, but there are making a great argument for not regulating the internet and letting competition settle this issue. Their size and influence will force companies to not discriminate against them.
I agree totally with Katie. We can look back at history and see that when it comes to these situations (or non-situations as is the case here), the private sector is always better than the government at forming a solution . If the government would have centralized a solution to polio years ago, we would have the best iron lung in the world but no polio vaccine. Let’s trust the marketplace and the natural competition that comes with it dictate what the best course of action will be for the internet.
This instance in Brazil points out that the final voice of how the internet is run is the consumer. We don’t need the government stepping in to solve phantom problems. If the ISPs start blocking content and doing things to upset consumers, they will stop buying the products and they will call for government help. So far the consumers have not cried foul, so the government can stay away.
Has any blogger here EVER been denied access to a website of their choosing????/ then what are we talking about here. let’s wait for a problem to actually surface before we let the government step in and muck things up. There are certainly enough real, tangible problems for Congress to be concentrating on right now.