sept06c.indd


Andy Bridges W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n e  

Net neutrality: What it is and why does 
it matter? 
Network neutrality (or “net” neutrality) is the 
concept of online nondiscrimination. It is 
the principle that consumers/citizens should 
be free to get access to—or to provide—the 
Internet content and services they wish, and 
that consumer access should not be regulated 
based on the nature or source of that content 
or service. 

Information providers—which may be 
Web sites, online services, etc., and who 
may be affiliated with traditional commercial 
enterprises but who also may be individual 
citizens, libraries, schools, or nonprofi t entities 
—should have essentially the same quality of 
access to distribute their offerings. “Pipe” own­
ers (carriers) should not be allowed to charge 
some information providers more money for 
the same pipes, or establish exclusive deals 
that relegate everyone else (including small 
noncommercial or startup entities) to an In­
ternet “slow lane.” This principle should hold 
true even when a broadband provider is pro­
viding Internet carriage to a competitor. 

Why is net neutrality an issue? 
Net neutrality was a founding principle of 
the Internet. It is a principle incorporating 
both the “common carrier” laws that have 
long governed the phone lines used for both 
voice telephony and dial­up access. Now, 
many consumers receive broadband service 
over other technologies (cable, DSL) that are 
not subject to the same common­carriage 
requirements. While these technologies are 
unquestionably superior to dial­up, the lack of 
enforceable net neutrality principles concerns 
us. Cable and DSL companies are planning 
to engage in “bit discrimination” by providing 
faster connections to Web sites and services 
that pay a premium, or by preferring their own 
business partners when delivering content. As 

Andy Bridges is communications specialist at ALA’s 
Washington Offi  ce, e-mail: abridges@alawash.org 

the Internet moves forward, is it really wise 
to leave net neutrality behind? 

What does this mean for academic 
libraries? 
Academic libraries are both providers of Internet 
content and producers of Internet content, and 
net neutrality impacts each of these roles differ­
ently. For example, many academic libraries use 
applications like video conferencing to provide 
distance learning. If net neutrality isn’t enforced 
through legislation, service providers could give 
priority to some video conferencing providers 
over others. In other words, the library’s choice 
of a particular video conferencing software 
package could relegate its content to the slow 
lane for some end users, whose ISPs may give 
priority to another video conferencing software 
package. This could mean that some students’ 
ability to take advantage of distance learning 
could be compromised. 

Further, many research libraries have 
become information producers themselves. 
Institutions across the country are making 
research results, historical databases, interac­
tive experiences, and more available through 
the Web. These sites are dependable sources 
of quality, noncommercial information on an 
Internet that is crowded with questionable 
sources. But it is unreasonable to think that 
these libraries would be able to pay an ad­
ditional premium (besides what they already 
pay for hosting and bandwidth) to ensure 
that users can access their sites quickly. Sites 
created by libraries and other nonprofi t institu­
tions would quickly lose the competition for 
“eyes” if they were forced to compete with 
sites produced by companies who can afford 
to cut deals with ISPs for premium service. 

For more information on net neutral­
ity, please visit ALA’s Network Neutrality 
page at www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues 
/techinttele/networkneutrality/netneutrality. 
htm. It features information on the subject and 
links to excellent resources like SavetheInternet. 
com and PublicKnowledge.org. 

C&RL News September 2006  514 

http:PublicKnowledge.org
www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues
mailto:abridges@alawash.org