FCC passes new Net Neutrality rules; Are Law Firm Website Marketing and SEO At Risk?
For a subject that evokes such strong debate, “net neutrality” is surprisingly difficult to define. Ask five pundits on either side of the debate and you may well be given six definitions. However, the basic concept is simple enough: every part of the Internet should be equally accessible and the gatekeepers (read: Internet service providers such as EarthLink, Comcast, Verizon, NetZero, At&T or Road Runner) should treat every packet of data blindly and without interference.
In December of 2010, the FCC, led by Chairman Julius Genachowski, adopted the first rules that will govern how Internet providers treat Web traffic and services. Regardless of which side of the debate you are on, one thing is certain: these regulations will set the stage for further political battles as the Internet becomes even more accessible with the widespread adoption of devices like tablet devices, smartphones and the advent of even smaller, lighter Internet devices to come.
“How do these new rules affect my Web marketing campaign?” you may ask. Under the new rules, broadband providers will be required to disclose their network management activities to consumers. Traditional wired broadband providers may not unreasonably discriminate against any lawful traffic, though no such rule will be put into place for providers of wireless services such as cell phone carriers.
So, in essence, users viewing your site from a home or office computer that gets Internet access from a traditional wired connection (even one that is later made wireless with the appropriate equipment) will not, under the current FCC regulations, experience any service slowdowns or blockages. However, users who are viewing sites from devices powered by native wireless networks like those used for smartphones and various 3G and 4G equipped devices have not been regulated by the latest FCC action.
Internet heavyweights Skype and eBay are both concerned that this glaring omission will soon be exploited by wireless carriers and say the regulations did not go far enough to protect customers who rely on wireless connections. Although there has been no movement by any of the larger carriers since the regulations were adopted, we know that major cable companies such as Time Warner and Comcast were looking to make their users pay an additional surcharge for services like Netflix that are very bandwith intensive (bear in mind that Netflix is a key competitor to most cable companies’ on-demand services). It’s not unreasonable to think that the currently unregulated wireless carriers, which have stricter concerns about bandwith than land-based carriers, will impose additional charges for access to bandwith intensive sites, such as those full of media clips or complex scripts.
What is doubly concerning is that undoubtedly these carriers have their own marketing offerings. It’s naive to think that they will not exploit the lack of regulations to ensure that sites they have an interest in are given every priority in terms of accessibility and speed while their competition will have to languish with substandard speeds or outright denials of service. The bottom line is that these wireless carriers have the ability to affect the cost of doing business for anyone with a website — including you and your law firm. With the undeniable rise in popularity of portable internet devices that connect through 3G and 4G connections, this could prove problematic for any law firm wishing to obtain clients from this ever-increasing user base.
The sky isn’t falling yet, however, and despite the omissions and loopholes that observers have pointed out, the Genachowski-led FCC likens itself to a “cop on the beat” of communications vitality and that further situations will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
For more information or Law Web Marketing questions , please contact ConsultWebs at marketing@consultwebs.com or 800-872-6590.
