Abstract
The issue of net neutrality has the potential to alter the dynamics of accessing online content in the United States. As opposed to the status quo where requested packets are delivered to an online user as and when they arrive at the local internet service provider’s switching office, several broadband providers have proposed to charge online content providers for priority delivery of the latter’s content. Opponents of the proposal (i.e. the backers of the ‘net neutrality’ principle) want the Congress to implement legislation that would prevent the proposed priority delivery mechanism. The discussion has been fierce with numerous backers on either side, but a proper economic analysis seems to be missing in the debate. In this tutorial, we explain the concept of net neutrality and present the implications of such a proposal on the consumers, and identify the winners and losers of implementing such a delivery mechanism. We also discuss the broader implications of the net neutrality issue. We believe that as the thought leaders in the area, IS researchers have a unique role to bring a holistic perspective to the net neutrality debate.
Recommended Citation
Guo, Hong and Bandyopadhyay, Subhajyoti, "Net Neutrality and its implications" (2010). AMCIS 2010 Proceedings. 126.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2010/126