What does the Net Neutrality Ruling Mean for Schools?

Image from Open Media on Flickr

Even though I have been down with the flu this week, I did hear the news about the supreme courts "Net Neutrality" ruling. If you don't yet know what net neutrality is, here is a simple version that you can tell your grandkids: once upon a time there was the idea that all Internet content providers should have the same level of access to the Internet. This means that as an end user you could enjoy the same data speed if you were playing minecraft or if you were researching the effect of gamma rays on man in the moon marigolds.

With the ruling this week from the US supreme courts we could see ISPs charging companies and content providers more to have upload access to the Internet. So in short the net just went more free market on us. This is a bummer. No one knows for sure, but I would bet this is really bad news for that digital divide we are always fretting about.
The argument from the court seems to be that if the customer does not like the access one broadband provider gives them, the customer is free to switch to another ISP. While this sounds good in theory, the truth is that there is not enough broadband coverage in many parts of the US to support this.
Also it seems like educational institutions are not regular customers, through they seem to get no consideration in this ruling. I am not a lawyer and I have not read everything about this ruling, but I am worried that this is a development that could seriously impact the ability of schools to support digital learning. It could also really put a damper on the free apps so many of us like to use. The apps we use for free, cost money to develop and support and this ruling seems to be a harbinger of more costs for app and content providers.
The more I think on this, the more I can see our subscription services like Brain Pop and Discovery Education going up, possibly pricing out schools that struggle to find the funds for these content services.
As I am writing this I keep hearing the words of the Lorax “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” So as educators we need to speak up for broadband access for all schools. Even if they are making moves to stifle innovation in the open market, we need to continue to find ways to foster innovation in our schools.


Until we find a better way to fight this: Sign this Petition: (thinks Cue and Mark Wagner for the Link)

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