By Stevie Smith Sep 10, 2007, 14:18 GMT
Hopes for an Internet where all information and data is viewed and appreciated equally look to be taking another step towards being dashed on the jagged rocks of profit and revenue this week, following news that the U.S. Justice Department is backing ISPs looking to implement tiered traffic charges.
Although Web founder Tim Berners-Lee has voiced his concern regarding a two-tiered Internet where ISPs (Internet Service Providers) charge users more for accessing certain content, the Justice Department has announced that it is not prepared to support "network neutrality" – which also goes against calls for a single Internet issued by the likes of Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc.
Submitted to investigating parties at the Federal Communications Commission, the Justice Department’s support for tiered Net access is likely to be arrive as music to the ears of ISPs such as AT&T and Verizon, which have both revealed their wishes to introduce higher content charges for designated areas of online access.
Comments offered up by the Justice Department on the matter indicate that Net open neutrality could lead to a hindrance in the evolution and development of the Internet as a whole, while also blocking ISPs in their drive to upgrade networks and also potentially hitting consumers with the burden of "implementing costly network expansions and improvements."
"Regulators should be careful not to impose regulations that could limit consumer choice and investment in broadband facilities," warned Thomas Barnett, the department's antitrust chief, in a BBC News report.
Despite the Justice Department’s claims that ISPs should be allowed to operate a tiered access system, much of the Internet community is backing the open online model of equality while warning that tiered access could well lead to certain ISPs gaining a financially fuelled upper hand and a tighter grip on specific content access.
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