There is always a level of competition between various brands as they attempt to showcase their product or service as the best. Competition is fierce in the South African ADSL broadband market, with a fair number of service providers promoting their packages as the cheapest and fastest. Net neutrality has become a hot topic recently as more and more internet service providers enter this competitive market, resulting in market expansion.
Owing to the fact that we do not have as many internet service providers as other countries, such as the USA or UK, South Africa has not yet addressed the issue of internet neutrality seriously. As we watch our local telecoms industry heat up, many believe that now is the time to introduce internet regulations to the country in order to create some form of relief and address the future of the net neutrality debate in South Africa.
A net neutrality bill is already in the process of being implemented in the USA. The neutrality regulations are intended to control the internet service provider industry and promote fair competition so all providers, not only the powerful ones, can make their mark.
This neutrality debate all boils down to what the content suppliers want versus what service providers offer. Content providers seem to fully support net neutrality because it will let their site be easily accessed at a faster speed. Internet service providers are more against strict net neutrality as this means that government will have access to their networks and they feel that this could lead to a possible invasion of privacy.
Many feel that the issue of net neutrality has not been addressed in South Africa and that it needs to placed in the spotlight. Telkom holds the reigns in terms of internet connection, as they own the every last mile of network cabling which lets them regulate how fast or slow local content can be downloaded. Currently, Telkom does not seem to abuse this power. More South African competition will result in more variety for internet users according to their personal preferences.
There is the possibility of net neutrality legislation in South Africa in the future. Industry experts believe that more flexible legislation will be more beneficial to the country as certain laws will hopefully forbid favoured treatment of upstream traffic, letting everyone grab a piece of the net neutrality pie.
Author: Lauren Potgieter
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: PCB Prototype & Manufacturing
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