If you care about the internet, you are probably paying close attention to the ongoing battle over net neutrality in the United States.
The country passed a major milestone last week, with the deadline for public input on the subject coming and going. Incredibly, Americans filed 22 million comments – far and away a new record on a communications issue, topping the previous high of four million set a few years ago, also on the same topic.
For the uninitiated, net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers should not unnecessarily interfere with the content that flows over their pipes. Net neutrality protections are designed to keep those providers – telecom companies – from favouring their own services, picking winners and losers or otherwise acting as gatekeepers.
The US telecom regulator, the federal communications commission (FCC), is moving to ditch strong rules put into place under the previous administration, hence the fierce response from the public.
The battle has global repercussions, given how many internet companies start in the United States and grow to become international concerns. Netflix, Amazon, Google, Twitter and so on all evolved into huge businesses because access to their services was not stifled by their local telecom companies.
Without strong net neutrality protection in the US, the next generation of internet services could be jeopardised, which would literally affect everyone in the world. Faced with that reality, it is a no brainer that everyone – no matter where they live – should be cheering in favour of preserving the existing rules.
But what if the opposite, where the FCC does kill off the protections, actually leads to better results in the long run? There is the unheralded possibility that doing so could result in a freer internet that is also less expensive for people to access.
Here is how the scenario could play out. If the protections are scrapped, US telecom companies will be emboldened to start experimenting with prioritisation of different kinds of traffic, which also means the de-prioritisation of other types.
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They may start demanding more money from Netflix or Spotify for transmitting their data, which in turn could lead to higher prices for the end users of those streaming services. The telecom companies could also start slowing or blocking video or communications services that compete with their own products.
They promise they would not do any of this, but history has given consumers plenty of reason not to believe them. Internet and wireless providers the world over have blocked, slowed and attempted to extort all manner of online services for years, and continue to do so even as they swear the opposite.
So what is to be gained with US regulators rubber stamping such malfeasance?
How about the likely reaction, which would finally be a concerted move to disintermediate telecom companies from the entire process once and for all.
Consumers and internet services – Netflix, YouTube and the like – currently have no choice but to go through intermediary telecom companies to connect with each other because those firms own the pipes. But it does not have to be that way and it probably will not be the case forever.
There have been a few attempts to cut out the middle men. Google, for example, tried rolling out its own fibre networks in the United States before deciding it was too expensive. The company has also experimented with delivering internet access via high-altitude balloons through its Project Loon effort. Facebook has run similar experiments with drones.
Both companies, as well as Microsoft, are also looking into “white spaces”, or the unlicensed portions of the radio spectrum that exist between the parts reserved for commercial television, radio and mobile phone usage. The companies believe it is possible for people to connect to the internet using these unlicensed blocks at little to no cost, without interfering with the licensed segments.
So far, all of these efforts have been half-hearted. But there is nothing like lighting a spark to get a fire raging, which is what the removal of net neutrality rules would do.
Clear the runway for anti-consumer and anti-internet behaviour and it will happen. When it does, efforts to develop alternative ways of accessing the internet without having to go through telecom companies will kick into high gear.
These alternatives would be developed by parties that have other interests than pure profit, which could mean dramatically cheaper access for consumers. Profit margins for internet providers have been estimated to be as high as 97 per cent – imagine shaving a good portion of that off your bill.
Strong net neutrality protection is obviously a desirable goal, but it will not solve the real underlying problem. Regardless of country, the issue is that the bottleneck always goes through a profit-hungry telecom company.
Keeping the internet free from interference and making it more affordable to access is going to require more than a few rules. It is going to require the creation of different ways to get on to it.
Ironically, the internet as we know it may need to be destroyed in order to provoke the creation of better – and cheaper – ways of accessing it.
Uefa Nations League
League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B:
Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C:
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D:
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
INFO
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Asian Cup 2019
Quarter-final
UAE v Australia, Friday, 8pm, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
WITHIN%20SAND
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Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
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SPECS
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
