Texas Introduces Bill to Stop Phone Companies from “Throttling” Internet in Disaster Zones
February 11, 2019
The internet has been in rough shape over the past few years, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better on its own. With the constant fight to keep the internet free for all users amongst the pressure from both the FCC and government officials, there has been quite a divide on how the internet should be handled.
But, with the repeal of net neutrality occurring in the summer of 2017 there has been a large amount of confusion surrounding the topic. Questions arose centering around how this will impact the future of the internet only to be met with speculations and more questions.
What is Net Neutrality?
If you have been under a rock for the past few years you may have missed the topic of net neutrality being slathered over the internet. Or, you may have become overwhelmed by the large saturation of content online greeting you with a wall of text. We will attempt to give you a brief overall explanation of the repeal of this bill and how it affects each person directly.
Net Neutrality, Then and Now
When it came to connecting to the internet there was a universal open dynamic being provided to all users which could be seen simply by accessing and watching your favorite streaming tv services, such as Netflix, Hulu or YouTube. With Net Neutrality in place all these services would offer the same speed and connection for all users, so you are receiving 100% of your streaming service without worrying about slowdowns or connection issues.
Once June 2017 hit, a hearing was held and Net Neutrality was repealed starting a new era of the internet. With the internet now being fully controlled by the individual internet service providers (ISP’s) limitations and select offerings are now an imminent concern to be provided to the average consumer.
This would mean that when it comes to watching shows via the individual streaming services your ISP will be able to throttle speeds to either slow down or speed up your connecting. Depending on the services you decide to enroll with, you may be forced to pay a premium to be able to even stream internet services in the first place.
An example plan listing may look something like this:
From the mock up it is pretty clear to see how the ISP’s may change the offerings of plans. For anyone who has ever purchased a television subscription this may be a familiar concept, as television providers are known for creating “less than friendly” packages that hinder the amount provided for an affordable cost.
You can see in the image how there is a breakdown of internet plans, and the offering of websites is limited based on the package you purchase. So, if the website wasn’t offered in the plan you selected you may find yourself being slowed down on these individual sites or the access to these sites being completely barred from access in general.
These are all hypothetical, of course, but gives a glimpse in what is almost positive of what would happen.
Why is This an Issue for Texas?
The problem of net neutrality is not necessarily a secluded issue for Texas as a whole, but rather a potential overall issue for the nation. Texas is simply the first state looking to change the limitless control of the ISP’s thanks to a recent event that could have severely impacted the quality of safety provided to others.
According to an article posted by KUT 90.5 a new bill proposed by the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for ISP’s and Telecommunication providers to “throttle”, or slow down, access to internet data in areas marked as “Disaster Areas” in attempts to give safety personnel such as EMT, Police Officers, Firefighters, etc. full speeds which could assist them in the quality of the rescue of those around them.
This may sound like a no-brainier to be provided but recently Verizon Wireless was caught throttling the internet speeds of firefighters in California during the wildfires. This could have greatly impacted the quality of rescue efforts and communication during.
When confronting Verizon about the service slowdowns being seen during the California Wildfires first responders were met with a message from Verizon simply suggesting those impacted by the slowdown should purchase an upgraded internet plan to avoid the slowdowns. In response, Santa Clara County sued Verizon.
What’s Next?
Unfortunately, as of now, there is no confirmation of this law being issued into place as it is only the beginning stages of bringing this issue to a state level. But, with the introduction of HB 1426 in Texas there is just another addition to a large number of bills proposed nationwide that attempt to protect the individual provisions of the internet.
This is a responsibility that should ultimately fall on the FCC, but we are finding more and more they are lacking behind any solid regulations imposed on the ISP’s themselves.
