"Don't be Evil" - End of Open Internet.

When you see someone tries to fix something that  is not broken you can conclude that either he is crazy or there is more to it than meets the eye.

The ongoing debate about net neutrality gained fierce momentum with Google and Verizon reportedly  (I first read it in NY Times) agreeing in principle about ending the internet as we know now. If true, that would be the end of "Open Internet" as we see it today.

Google and Verizon came up with a two-page policy document. The full text is available here. Whilst a cursory read would seem that their intention is harmless, read between the lines:

Here is "Five sentences from the Google/Verizon proposal that could change the net forever" -  Matt Schafer's Blog:

1. “Prioritization of Internet traffic would be presumed inconsistent with the non-discrimination standard, but the presumption could be rebutted.”

Interpretation: Favoring some traffic over other traffic is not okay, but an ISP could do it anyway if they have a good argument for it.

2. “Broadband Internet access service providers are permitted to engage in reasonable network management… (and) to prioritize general classes or types of Internet traffic.”

Interpretation: ISPs can throttle/prioritize traffic in whatever way they feel is necessary for the sake of the network.

3. “Because of the unique technical and operational characteristics of wireless networks, and the competitive and still-developing nature of wireless broadband services, only the transparency principle would apply to wireless broadband at this time.”

Interpretation: Since wireless Internet is “different” from wired Internet, net neutrality is not applicable to wireless Internet.

4. “The FCC would enforce the consumer protection and nondiscrimination requirements through case-by-case adjudication, but would have no rulemaking authority with respect to those provisions.”

Interpretation: The FCC has no authority to make rules to keep the Internet a level playing field for everyone.

5. “The FCC would have exclusive authority to oversee broadband Internet access service, but would not have any authority over Internet software applications, content or services.”

Interpretation: The FCC has no power to regulate ISPs at any level, but it can “oversee” ISPs and punish them after the fact with $2 million dollar fine.

Because we are so used to open Internet all along, it is really hard to imagine it being closed. So What does it mean?

It means that till now, Internet was a freeway with no tolls. It will now have two lanes. One fast lane and one slow lane. The fast lane would only be affordable to those who are willing to pay and the majority of smaller players would have to content with the slower lane.

Whilst debate is going on amongst consumer class expressing concern over discrimination which was hitherto unimaginable, the real danger lies somewhere else: It hinders entrepreneurship on the Internet.

We, as users, may not be required to pay in the short run - but in the long run they can charge us. But it will definitely affect those internet businesses who are not willing to pay their ISP for "faster" delivery of content to consumer.

Imagine you happened to invent an amazing algorithm for search. Far superior to Goole's algorithm and your search results are stunningly more relevant and accurate than that of Google. And, you are operating out of your garage and dreams about taking on Google - just the same way Sergey and Larry took on Yahoo! when they started Google.

Here comes the punch! Google pays a billion dollars to ISPs to deliver their search results faster and your  search results, though really good, comes excruciatingly slow because you cant afford to pay as much as Google.

The winner here is Google and the losers are many. main loser is the consumer. We are denied good technology because the inventor is discriminated by the ISP based on how much he can pay.

Well, I know this is a bad example because if you happen to stumble upon an algorithm like that, you will have the backing of at least one big VC - and money will not be a problem. But what if you don't want to dilute your equity and decide go go without a VC?

Extend the impact to other businesses: Bloggers, Online tutors, Tradesmen who advertise on the internet and a whole heap of people who make a living out of it and aspires to make it big one day. What happens to them? Those who can afford to pay will survive and those who can't will perish.

Imagine this happened in the '90s when Google was still in the garage. Yahoo! might have shut Google out and Google would never have born. You would not be using  gmail, google earth or google maps.  Or Amazon - Barnes & Nobles would have shut them out.

So, What is really happening?

What is happening right now is that the little guys are able to take on established, big, brick and mortar businesses with their intelligence and innovation alone. Internet is the only platform where the small guy can even dream of taking on the big guys. And big businesses don't like it. They want to block the way for ever and would like to be in a position of power.

Google is getting fat and doesn't like idea of sharing eyeball revenue with anyone. Well, it is happening. With more potential competition out there in garages, big companies don't like the idea of their share of the pie getting smaller and smaller. Facebook's ad revenue projections for next year is a billion dollars. Where does this come from? I bet half of it would have been Google's if Facebook didn't exist.

All the innovations so far on the internet was possible because the platform was same for you, me or Microsoft. For the first time in the history of the world, something was out there which was truly democratic. And like all good things, it wont last.

Luckily (or is it?), Google and Verizon reportedly agree (or so it would seem) that the wired internet would be spared from the discrimination. And that discrimination would only between different types of data - for example - video, audio and data. That means, wireless internet is open for discrimination. Why is that?

 I can't pinpoint what exactly it is. It is a hunch: it has something to do with Android. Android is outpacing all other platforms - Apple's iOS or Nokia's Symbian.

I think wireless internet is the future. No, I am sure now. Why else would the big corporations are salivating on it - leaving room for interpretations? Why else would Google and Verizon fix something that is not broken?

"What is our Bauxite doing in their mountains? What is our furniture doing in their forests?"

Not my lines, of course. Arundhati Roy's. She is talking about (See her Essays: "Mr Chidambaram’s War" and "Walking with the comrades") multi-trillion dollar loot. This time it is from the mineral belt - Jharkand, Chatisgarh, Orissa and parts of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. On one side: the tribals living in these forests and mountains for centuries, who will never survive in what we call our civilized society.  Other side: Government of India, Respective state governments and powerful companies like: Vedanta Resources Plc (P. Chidambaram was a director in this company), Hindalco, Tata Steel, Jindal Iron and Steel, Mittal Group, Essar Group etc, and... all the mainstream medias.

First reaction of the intellectually disabled: Oh! These anti-development talk.

We are talking about $4 trillion in the form of Bauxite (key raw material for production of Aluminum) in the state of Orissa alone - and that itself is 4 times India's GDP - to give you an idea about the size.

Thats good - India will get $4 trillion! - Just from Orissa! Vow! 

Will we? For every $1, we get 7 cents. 93 cents would go to the corporations. Thats $3720 Billion for Big corporations (comprising of say, 1000 rich people) and $280 Billion for the development of 1100 Million People. How does that sound? 

After Kickbacks and layers of corruption and inherent inefficiencies, we would be lucky to walk away with a net of $100 billion. The price: The elegant Mountains and virgin forests, the ecosystem, a whole civilization - and a permanent scar in our conscience.

By the time the welfare money (if, any) filters through a million levels of bureaucracy, the needy would be long gone - they would be left begging in our cities.

It is estimated every square inch of land in these areas are covered by MoUs with the corporations. And there are more than 100 MoUs signed so far.

As always, the labelling was done: The tribals are "Maoists" and are therefore the "gravest internal security threat" according to our Prime Minister.

Arundhati Roy calls the choice the "Bush Binary" (Are you with Saddam or US?)  - you are either with us or with them. As if there is no choice in between. Most importantly, as if that is a choice.

So, on whose side are you? Are you pro development or anti-development? Does being on the side of tribals mean that you are against progress? Are things that simple? Watch...

Has she mocked Gandhi? I dont think so...

And who are these Maoists?

For the greener ones amongst us, production of 1 tonne of Aluminium will use 1400 Tonnes of water and would leave 15 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. See "Keep the Bauxite in the Mountains" by Felix Padel & Samarendra Das.

How much can you pay as compensation for these people? And how do you fix the social responsibility for the big corporations? I always felt Corporate Taxes are not a good enough yardstick. There should be a system of extraction of money from these corporations based on some broader criteria like human costs, current and future impact on ecosystems etc. In other words, there should be a holistic view rather than the profit view.

If you have made up your mind to sell the family silver, why sell it cheap?  Why not 80 cents for you and 20 Cents for the corporations? I am sure that 20 cents will cover the cost of production, marketing and associated dirt.

Remember, we help these companies steal them. We work for them, we make money for them. By not reacting, we are responsible.

What can we do? I have a solution. We can buy shares in these companies and make an immediate profit. Then dump it and donate half the money to fund resistance.

The ending trouble

We all suffer from "Starting Trouble"...

Just to prove I was alive all the time... (click on the picture - It is my draft list- list of incomplete blogs) 

Almost all of the blogs I published including this one might have had an editing time of say, 3 hours. The idea is, the weak eggs go to the draft. They are allowed to hatch on their own until they become the Godzillas I can't ignore. 

Either the Godzillas don't scare me or I have ending trouble.