Are Google really committed to net neutrality?

December 16th, 2008

A bit of Tuesday news on G.

Google Inc said on Monday it is committed to principles of equal network access, after a report said it approached Internet carriers with a proposal to create a “fast lane” for its content.
Google’s telecom and media counsel in Washington, Richard Whitt, said in a company blog that the search powerhouse offered to place its servers within the facilities of Internet service providers, making its data closer to consumers and therefore more easily accessed.
But Whitt said the offers did not violate so-called net neutrality — the principle that phone and cable companies that operate data pipelines should treat all traffic equally.
Google was responding to a Wall Street Journal report on Monday that its practices would put at risk its stance on network neutrality.
The company said providers should be able to bolster access speeds through co-location and caching, both techniques that ease data traffic, as long as they do so without discrimination.
“However, they shouldn’t be able to leverage their unilateral control over consumers’ broadband connections to hamper user choice, competition, and innovation,” he said.
The net neutrality debate has pitted Internet service providers such as AT&T Inc against content companies such as Google and Microsoft.
The ISPs say they need flexibility to manage the ever-growing traffic on their networks without government interference, while content companies worry the ISPs hold the power to impede or slow traffic.

Read the full story courtesy of Reuters: Google says plan would not threaten net neutrality | Technology | Internet | Reuters