Recently Net Neutrality has been the big issue in tech circles. The FCC is proposing new rules that will allow for the creation of preferred service lanes that ISPs can sell access to web services to. Think of it as Netflix “choosing” to pay Comcast $50M a year so that customers get faster speeds than normal anytime they access Netflix.
On the surface it sounds great for consumers. We can pay for the lowest tier of internet service but still have regular access to Netflix. Great!
But the side effect is that then Netflix will have a leg up on any new competitors trying to enter the video on demand space. Startups can’t afford to both build their business (an inherently risky proposition) and pay a toll to service providers to even have the opportunity.
This new process also has the side effect of incentivizing ISPs to not upgrade their base consumer connections. Why would Comcast want to sell Gigabit connections to consumers who will then expect access to all services at that speed when they can instead offer consumers 20MBps connections and sell Gigabit upgrades to the Netflix and Youtube’s of the world? Take the concept out a few years and suddenly the only real options you have for high bandwidth services are those that are “approved” by your ISP. Say goodbye to 4chan (although some will argue that isn’t a bad thing).
CRE technology is not currently a high bandwidth type of playground. But think of where we are headed:
- 3D real time virtual tours of space
- Interactive, collaborative workplace design tools
- Online video surveillance of properties
- Big data streaming in from Building Management Systems
- Instant GIS and Economic analysis of local markets
This is not a low bandwidth future. If this fast lane rule moves through then we’re going to be on the short end of the stick. We’re not giving access to millions of consumers, by our nature we deal with a limited market. Which means we aren’t likely to want to pay heavy tolls for high band service delivery.
CRE is currently in the long tail of the technology delivery market. But we are growing fast. This topic is too important to ignore. I hope you all help fight this in whatever way you can.