Network neutrality might be defined as a publicly-accessible network that aspires to treat all Internet access, content, services and platforms equally. The net neutrality principle allows networks to carry all kinds of information, and supports all applications equally regardless of where users may be located (or their ability to pay for access). Canadian academic Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia University and author of 'The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires' coined the term Net Neutrality. (Wu asks excellent questions such as "...whether the Internet should be made neutral -- and if so, how?...")
The central idea shared by proponents of net neutrality is that the Internet is an essential public utility, similar to electricity, the telephone, television and radio. The Internet’s open, neutral architecture has proven to be an essential link in market innovation, economic growth, social discourse and the free flow of ideas. Therefore, the Internet is an important source of information for everyone and a major platform for dissemination of knowledge; it should be protected against all forms of discrimination and censorship. As an academic librarian, I also believe that open access to information is a basic human right and that net neutrality is a critical component of democracy, a free and open civil society and lifelong learning.
"...Under the heading of “net neutrality” lies a whole range of questions affecting consumers and service providers. Fundamental issues of technology, economics, competition, access and freedom of speech are all involved . . . it is one of the polarizing issues of the day. It will have to be addressed and debated by all of us. (CRTC, 2008)
The laws that govern Canadian telecommunications prohibit “unjust discrimination” and interference with content by telecommunications carriers. However, they do not enforce net neutrality or prevent ISPs from offering tiered services to content providers. Should they do so, it would turn the internet into a two-tiered network on which corporate content is given priority over all other content. In the end, those with deep pockets will get the “fast lane”, while everyone else will get slower lanes.
Another problem is ISP “traffic-shaping”: a practice in which providers slow down certain types of traffic (such as peer-to-peer file sharing) to make space for other traffic on congested networks. This is seen by many as “unjust discrimination” under the Telecommunications Act and a violation of network neutrality, but providers continue to defend the practice.
