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03/29/2024 10:41:40 am

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel Pitches In On Net Neutrality Debate, Promotes Fast Lanes

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(Photo : Reuters) Outside of the U.S. all has been quiet surrounding net neutrality, but now German Chancellor Angela Merkel has given her views on the situation.

The net neutrality debate has only affected U.S. citizens, until now. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has added in her thoughts on the fast lanes debate and is in favor of opening up a priority lane.

Commenting on the topic in Berlin on Thursday, Merkel claimed fast-lanes should be brought to the Internet, to offer special priority for commercial and emergency services.

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Merkel claims two lanes are needed for the continued growth of the Internet, claiming innovations will not come to the market without this new priority service from Internet service providers.

Providing examples like telemedicine and self-driving cars, two new platforms that need the Internet, Merkel clams a priority lane could ensure safety and deliverance.

The Chancellor did not give an overview of how such a service would be regulated, to make sure the normal lane is not slowed down and the fast-lane is truly faster.

In Europe, the current situation sides with net neutrality, offering more regulation to ISPs. Netflix does not pay any European ISP for optimal service, unlike in the U.S. where it pays all four major broadband providers.

To get the laws changed, Merkel would need to tackle both Germany and the E.U., two hard opponents. It is unclear how interested the German people are on the subject of net neutrality.

Public advocacy groups in the U.S. have argued without strict regulation, the fast-lane would simply become a normal lane, and any company not paying the toll would have extremely slow deliverance.

This has been shown to be the case with Netflix, having to pay ISPs millions to keep service running smoothly. Unless the FCC is ready to hand out fines daily, it is more than likely U.S. ISPs will simply use the fast-lane to make huge amounts of revenue.

Europe is normally better - in most countries - when it comes to regulation. Some cases show countries not being able to handle dominant broadband and telecom providers, but for the most part Internet speeds continue to surpass U.S. speeds.

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