As most IT folks already know, “Net Neutrality” was dealt a blow today in federal court. ( http://www.suntimes.com/technology/2143440,comcast-fcc-net-neutrality-040610.article )
This has impact on the file transfer industry, as some carriers could now consider non-HTTP/S protocols such as FTP, SSH, FTPS and AS3 as non-core or superfluous and work to throttle or block these protocols. In fact, the root case was around the innovative file transfer protocol used by BitTorrent.
Opinion on the ruling is mixed, but there is an equally healthy debate about whether or not it will stand. One possible course the FCC may take is to reclassify high-speed Internet as a more regulated class of communications; essentially allowing the FCC to reassert Net Neutrality at that point.
But for now, Net Neutrality is dead – stay tuned.
About jlampe:
Jonathan Lampe is VP, Product Management, of Ipswitch File Transfer. He developed the first editions of the MOVEit managed file transfer software and continues to guide the File Transfer division as it continues to pursue its mission of moving your most valuable data. He holds a computer science degree and an operations degree from Northern Illinois University, an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and two security certifications: ISC2's CISSP and SANS' System and Network Auditor.
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One Response to “Net Neutrality Dead – For Now?”
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here's an interesting list of “fallout” from the decision, over at Lifehacker.
http://lifehacker.com/5510966/remains-of-the-da…